


Deals & Promises

by AzzaFromTazza



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Demons, Arranged Marriage, Big Brother Hanzo, But a lovable one, Characters Are Slightly Different Than Canon, M/M, Overwatch - Freeform, Swearing, genji's a little shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2018-12-08 11:24:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 36,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11645574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AzzaFromTazza/pseuds/AzzaFromTazza
Summary: Hanzo denied the elders one “simple” request, to kill his little brother, and that one decision leads him down a new path he never thought existed. Ten years later, he sees just how far that path will go.





	1. 10 Years Ago...

  Hanzo stood in the shade of the cherry blossom tree. Or at least, what little shade it provided in the darkness of the night. It was supposed to be a full moon, however the sudden appearance of a thunderstorm had casted darkness over Hanamura from early morning to right now, covering the ground completely in shadows. Thankfully, the rain had stopped when Hanzo had decided to head out to the spot he had arranged his meeting, however the distant sound of thunder reassured him that it would return in full force eventually. He hoped that the rain would hold off until he was done.

  A noise startled him from his thoughts, the subtle sound of footsteps climbing up the wet hill gave him time to silently draw his sword from its sheath in the unfortunate event that the person was not who he was expecting.

  “Brother?” A male voice gently called out. As the person rounded the tree, Hanzo was greeted by the comforting sight of his younger brother, the silhouette of his usual bright green hair slightly dishevelled from sleep.

  “Genji.” Hanzo sighed, lowering his sword so the tip was pointing towards the ground. “You came.”

  “Unfortunately.” Genji grumbled. Hanzo lowered his gaze, remembering the argument that had occurred earlier that day. Genji was likely still bitter about it, his ability to hold grudges was a trait he inherited from their father.

  “Did you bring what I asked?” Hanzo checked.

  “Yes.” Genji slung something off his back and held it in his hands. Hanzo heard the sound of metal scraping against something, and immediately knew his brother had drawn his sword.

  “Genji, what are you doing?” He asked.

  “Don’t act dumb.” Genji scoffed. “I heard your little discussion with the elders. I’ve known they wanted you to “straighten me out” and make me one of their puppets. And now that they've realised I’m beyond their control, they want you to end me.” Hanzo heard Genji shuffle his feet, his silhouette matching the sound as he got into a fighting stance. “But just know that I don’t plan to go down easily. I will fight until my last breath.”

  Hanzo didn’t move, looking down at his brother with sorrow.

  “I am sorry that I’ve led you to think that you came all this way to be killed.” He sighed.

  “Wait, what?” Genji asked.

  “It is true that the elders have asked me to kill you, but I do not and cannot go through with it.” Hanzo explained. “I have asked you to come here for a different matter.”

  “But… you’re the elders’ lapdog!” Genji stated, disbelief obvious in his voice. “Why would you not go through with one of their demands?”

  “Because they want me to kill my brother.” Hanzo sighed again, and not for the first time, Genji could hear exhaustion in his voice, as well as… desperation? He lowered his sword. “I’ve been led to believe that what they say is the right thing, that no matter how ridiculous their demands are, I should do it. But this…” Hanzo gestured to Genji and the sword in his own hand. “This is going too far. It’s… opened my eyes, I suppose, made me question their morals and what their true purpose is. You may be the most irresponsible and hard-headed person on the face of this planet, but that does not mean you deserve death. So no, brother, I will not put one of their demands before the safety of somebody I deeply care for.”

  All Genji could do was gape at the man before him and ignore the insults he just made at him. He had only seen this side of Hanzo a few times before, and not in several years. Hanzo had been trained to hide his emotions like he was wearing a mask. But right now he was completely exposed, whether intentional or otherwise. He looked broken and exhausted, like an old man who spent his entire life working non-stop in a factory and had gotten his first break in a decade.

  Genji dropped his sword and stepped towards his brother, placing a hand on his shoulder. Hanzo looked at the hand, then at his brother.

  “Well, that big speech earlier about me not dying seems kind of pointless now, doesn’t it?” Genji joked. He felt a small chuckle come from his brother as one of his rare smiles graced his face. “So, does that mean we’re abandoning the clan at last?”

  “You are. I cannot.” Hanzo admitted, the smile falling from his face. “We both know what the elders would do if such a thing happened.” Genji wanted to protest, and felt it at the tip of his tongue, but he managed to fight the urge. What Hanzo was doing right now, letting him live instead of killing him like he was asked to do, was acceptable enough for the time being.

  “Very well.” Genji sighed. “But promise me that you will leave one day as well.”

  “I will try my best.” Hanzo agreed. “’Though it will be a challenge.” He reached down to swap his sword for a bag he had previously packed and handed it to his brother. “Take this, it should be enough to last you for a while if you spend it wisely.”

  Genji took the bag and gently patted it to feel its content. “And how am I to get a bag full of money onto a plane without arousing suspicions?”

  “You won’t be using a plane.”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “You know that the elders can and will use any means to find anybody. Even if I convince them I killed you, they’ll still spend months checking and rechecking to see if you’re alive. And I cannot risk that. Instead, I have found another way.”

  Hanzo then grabbed a sheet of paper he had concealed in his pocket. After unfolding it to reveal what looked like a complex series of circles and shapes, he handed it to Genji to grab something else from his other pocket.

  “Brother, what is this?” Genji asked, studying the weird design on the paper. It looked like something he’d seen in many movies and comics, used to summon beings from beyond the grave. But that stuff’s not real. Hanzo must be toying with him. But when he looked at his brother, he saw that the object he grabbed from his pocket was a small Swiss Army knife. “Brother, I… never took you to practice black magic… You know this isn’t real, right?”

  Hanzo sighed. “If only that was the case.”

  “Brother, you can’t be serious!”

  “I know this is hard to grasp, but I am certain that this is real.”

  “Are you hearing yourself!?!”

  “Genji, we can summon the spirits of dragons to fight for us. Demons and other supernatural beings shouldn’t be too farfetched, should it?”

  Genji groaned. “I suppose not. But are you seriously planning to summon a demon just to get me out of the country?”

  “For your sake? I would sacrifice anything to ensure your safety. Now please show me the paper.”

  Genji reluctantly presented the paper design-up to Hanzo. Hanzo flipped the knife so the blade was out before holding his right hand over the paper. Taking a deep breath to calm the sudden rush of nerves, he quickly made a cut across his palm, shallow enough to not leave a scar, but deep enough to draw blood. He carefully clenched his fist to get more blood dribbling onto the waiting paper, trying his best to get it on the lines and not on the white parts, whilst he began to quietly yet urgently repeat the spell that had been haunting him since those dreams.

  “Demon of the Desert, hear my plea! I call upon your powers to grant my desire! Demon of the Desert, come to me now!”

  The brothers waited, breaths held in unison to see if it did work.

  Two minutes passed until they both exhaled. During that time, nothing changed.

  “Fuck!” Hanzo cried. He fell to his knees, feeling betrayed at the “guarantee” he was promised. His sight became blurry as tears tried to escape his eyes.

  “Brother, it’s okay.” Genji crouched down to Hanzo’s level, placing the blood-stained paper on the ground beside them. “It was an honourable attempt. Perhaps I can try to smuggle onto a boat.” He placed his hands on his brother’s shoulders. Hanzo glared at the paper like it had committed a great felony. He reached out, grabbed it and tore it apart, tossing what remained onto the wet grass of the hill.

  “I’m sorry, Genji. I’ve failed you.” Hanzo whimpered, cradling his bloody hand against his chest, not caring if he got his clothes dirty.

  “You did nothing wrong, Shimada. I just forgot to tell you somethin’ important.”

  That southern drawl. Was it…

  The brothers snapped their heads  towards the trunk of the tree, where the voice had come from, and Hanzo finally saw what the owner of the voice that has haunted his dream looked like. Or at least a shadowy image of what he would look like.

  A man was leaning against the cherry blossom tree, wearing what appeared to be chaps, some kind of cowboy hat (a stetson, perhaps?), and something akin to a blanket draped over his shoulders. It looked like the man had walked straight out of an old western movie.

  Until he flicked a lighter and held it near his face to light a hidden cigar clenched between his teeth. Then the brothers could see what looked like some kind of metal glove over his left arm, and pitch-black eyes that made looking into them feel like their souls were completely exposed to this man.

  Hanzo clenched his fists, ignoring the pain it brought to the right hand, before standing up and marching over to the man, grabbing the front of the blanket-thing, and bringing the man’s face to Hanzo’s level, despite there only being a few inches of difference between them.

  “And why did you not appear when I tried to summon you?” Hanzo growled, doing his best to not let the overwhelming smell of cigars and… whiskey?… get to him.

  The man held his hands up. “Okay that was my fault. I forgot to tell ya that after doin’ the bleeding and the spell, ya need to destroy the pentagram. Lucky you figured it out before you truly gave up.”

  A growl escaped Hanzo’s lips. “Do you think I have time for forgotten information!?! My brother’s life is on the line, in case you have not realised!”

  The man did not look away from Hanzo, constantly maintaining eye contact. If he wasn’t so angry at him for being neglectful on information, Hanzo would have been scared, terrified even. Despite the eyes appearing pitch-black in the light of the lighter, he could now see that there were tiny specks red in the centre of each eye. Pupils, perhaps?

  “Are you a real demon?” Genji’s curiosity broke the staring contest between the two men.

  “About as real as they get, partner.” The demon-man said. He glanced back to Hanzo. “Mind letting me go, Shimada?”

  Still glaring at him, Hanzo relinquished his death-grip on the blanket.

  “Thank ya kindly.” The man said, offering a small smile to show his gratitude, a pair of fangs glinting in the light of his cigar. He stood up to his full height, not much taller than the brothers, and turned to face Genji. “So you’re the one I’m supposed to escort?”

  “I… suppose so.” Genji looked over to Hanzo as if to say: “Holy fucking shit there’s an actual fucking demon standing right in front of us! What the actual fuck!?!” Hanzo knew that if he was in Genji’s position, he would do the same thing regardless of how he was meant to present himself.

  “Right.” The man turned back to Hanzo. “And the deal was?”

  “You know what the deal is.” Hanzo retorted.

  “Yeah I do, you just need to say out loud what it is. Deals with demons are weird. It’s a like a verbal confirmation that the offerer of the deal needs to do, kinda.” The man explained.

  Hanzo sighed. “I want you to take him to a country far away from Japan, one with civilization preferably. Then I want you to watch over him just in case the clan decides to do something.” He explained.

  “Alright. Mind giving me an estimate on how long that’ll take? ‘Cause as much as I love babysittin’, I do have places to be.” The man stated.

  Hanzo looked to his brother for an answer.

  “Oh, um…” Genji pondered for a moment. “… I’d say a year should be plenty? And you don’t have to “babysit” me, just… I don’t know… check up on me once a week or month or something perhaps?” Genji looked slightly uncomfortable being put on the spot like that. Hanzo felt bad for having this forced onto him.

  “Alright, so I take you somewhere, and keep you safe for about a year.” The demon-man looked at Hanzo. “Is that the deal you wanna make, Shimada?”

  No, it wasn’t. He wanted much more to ensure Genji’s safety. He wanted the demon-man to kill all the elders to ensure they would never hurt anybody again. But anything more than what he had already asked and he feared that the price would be too high to pay. Hell, he didn’t even know what he would have to pay for this deal.

  Hanzo looked the demon in the eyes. “Yes.” He said. “That is the deal I want.”

  The demon smiled, showing fangs that Hanzo was certain weren’t there before. His body shifted as his left hand fiddled with his right hand. A few moments later, he held his right hand out. “Wanna shake on that, darlin’?” He asked.

  Hanzo stared at the hand for a few moments before rising his own hand and placing it against the other man’s hand. The demon quickly gripped his hand, and Hanzo felt a sudden hot energy pressing into the wound on his hand. Hanzo cried out in pain.

  “No!” Genji gasped, approaching his brother before the man used his left hand to stop him.

  “Nothin’ to worry about, partner. Just sealin’ the deal.” The demon explained. Almost instantly, the pain subsided, leaving an uncomfortably warm feeling in its wake. Hanzo jerked his hand away from the demon’s and tried to examine the cut in the low light. It appeared to have healed itself, and left a scab going across his palm in a diagonal line. Except when he ran his fingers against it, it felt like more like a scar.

  “The wound wasn’t that deep…” Hanzo muttered.

  “Think of it as a reminder of what’s to come.” The man stated. He turned back to Genji. “You ready to leave?” He asked.

  “Hang on.” Genji said. “There’s still something I need to do with my brother.”

  The man shrugged. “Suit yourself. I’ll give yous some privacy.” He walked down to the bottom of the hill, definitely not out of earshot, but the brothers can appreciate the gesture.

  Genji turned to Hanzo. “Are you certain about staying, brother? You can still come with me.”

  “Genji, there is but one thing that I want more than to leave with you; and that is to make sure that you are safe.” Hanzo shifted on his feet. “If fate is kind to us, then perhaps we will meet again in the near future.”

  Genji was silent. He walked back over to the base of the tree and picked up something. He walked back over. “You asked me to bring my sword. May I ask why?”

  “The elders want proof of your death, and they asked me to bring your sword and your scarf to them once I am done.” Hanzo explained. Instantly one of Genji’s hand flew up to the orange scarf that he was almost never seen without. Everybody within the walls knew why that was.

  “They truly are monsters.” He muttered. It looked like it physically pained him to even consider taking it off. “I… I don’t know if I can…”

  “I understand, brother. But would Mother want you to choose between your life and her scarf?”

  Genji looked at him, then handed his sword Hanzo and raised his arms to remove the scarf. He handed it to Hanzo, but both held it seconds longer than they should.

  Genji surprised Hanzo by pulling him closer and wrapping his arms around him. He felt Hanzo stiffen at the sudden contact, but Hanzo slowly relaxed and embraced his younger brother, something neither of them had done since they were boys.

  “Please, be safe until we see each other again.” Genji pleaded, his voice cracking at the thought of never seeing his older brother again.

  Hanzo stayed silent, not trusting his voice enough. Instead, he hugged his little brother closer into a near bone-crushing hug, tears threatening to spill out of his eyes for the second time that night.

  Eventually they parted, and seeing Genji’s face covered in tears is enough to send a few down Hanzo’s. He placed a hand on Genji’s shoulder and together they walked down the hill to where the demon was standing. When the demon saw them, he didn’t say anything, as if he understood the emotional pain that they were going through. He placed his left hand on Genji's shoulder and gave Hanzo a nod. He nodded back and removed his hand, instantly wishing he could put it back and never let go of Genji. But he fought the urge and took several steps back.

  “I’ll keep him safe, don’t ya worry your pretty face, darlin’.” The man promised, offering the grieving brother a kind-hearted smile.

  “Thank you…” Hanzo managed to get out, his voice cracking. He looked at Genji, who was looking at him with the most heartbroken face Hanzo had ever seen. He felt his own face mirror that of his brother's. They didn’t break eye contact until after Genji and the man disappeared.

  That was when Hanzo broke down. As did the clouds above.


	2. A Normal Day?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's just another day in the office for Hanzo... Well it should've been.

  “Shimada!” The guard that had entered his office all but shouted. Hanzo blinked away the memory, sighing at how easily he had allowed his mind to drift off in such a manner, yet he was not surprised.

  “Yes?” He asked with forced politeness. The man didn’t even bother to knock, and as a bonus, had accidentally jostled the pot-plant he kept in the corner. How disrespectful.

  “The Elders have asked for your presence. Something about an emergency meeting.” The guard informed him. It took too much energy not to sigh again, this time in annoyance.

  “Very well.” He placed the pen he had been using on top of the paper-covered desk and rose from his seat, manoeuvring around the giant mahogany desk to the exit. He could always rely on the Elders to plan a meeting and not invite him until it was minutes away from starting. It irritated him to no end, but he always endured it for the sake of his sanity, with the promise that one day it will never happen again.

  After a few short minutes of navigating the halls of the Shimada Castle, he entered the meeting room, where the seven Elders sat around the oval desk, three on each side and one, the "Head Elder" as Hanzo had come to call him, sitting at one end, all of them wearing the traditional haori and hakama that all Elders were required to wear. The choice made them look like they were dressed for a funeral during the middle of a historical re-enactment. It contrasted with Hanzo’s look, who wore a black dress shirt and dark blue jeans with simple dress shoes. Everybody was dressed for the young master’s funeral, he liked to think, as grim as it was.

  “Master Shimada, how nice of you to join us.” Neikan stated with little emotion, nodding at the chair opposite him as if to tell him he may take a seat, like a lost child.

  “I would thank you for letting me know beforehand, but I assume the message got lost again?” Hanzo asked, forcing down a smirk as he took a seat in the chair ‘offered’ to him, at the other end of the table furthest away from the door. It was like they were torturing him on purpose. Oh wait… “What is so important that you must drag me away from my office?

  Neikan hummed disapprovingly at the master’s disinterest. “We have received word that one of our associates is having troubles with Overwatch.”

  Hanzo raised his eyebrows. “Again? Isn’t this the sixth one in the last two years?”

  Another elder, Hayate, piped up. “Yes, sir. We fear that if they keep persisting, they will eventually move on to other clans, and eventually to us.”

  Hanzo nodded. What better way to get into the largest criminal empire in Japan than through those it worked with? “After so many attacks, they would have gathered enough information to successfully pull it off at one point or another.”

  “Which gives us more than enough reason to offer our assistance.” Neikan spoke up.

  Hanzo sighed. “Like I pointed out earlier, this is the sixth Overwatch attack within the last two years. We offered help for the last two, and on the last one I ended up in the medical bay for over a week and we lost more than enough men to warrant staying out of any more attacks.”

  “Well you should not be fighting out there in the first place, my lord! Your place is as the leader, not as a warrior.” Neikan stated.

  “Then all of my training would be useless if I do not defend my family’s legacy. You all have admitted at one point or another that I am one of the best fighters out there. Or would you much rather I stay on the side and let the castle become overrun with Overwatch agents?”

  Neikan let out an annoyed huff. “You are playing with fire, Shimada; one day someone will attack the Clan, be it Overwatch or some other organisation, and you will want to play hero. But you might not make it out with just a few scratches and bruises. And then what? What will happen to this legacy that you so desperately try to defend if you are put out of action permanently? You should start thinking long term; you are the only Shimada left, so until you have children to take over for you, preserving this legacy your ancestors have built after centuries should be your top priority.”

  Hanzo slowly sighed and resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Neikan’s words. Firstly, he was not the only Shimada left; Genji was out there somewhere. Secondly, the old man would say anything to get his point across. It was why he was the ‘Head Elder’, or at least the one the others listened to before Hanzo himself; he spoke his mind while the others were more careful with what they said. He supposed serving the Shimada family since his own father was a young man gave him that privilege, or at least think he did.

  “And as the sole Shimada, my decision is to stay out of this fight against Overwatch, since it is so important to keep me alive.” Hanzo stated, his voice holding the note of finality that everybody knew not to fight with, the one thing they all respected when it came to him. “Now, if there is nothing else you need from me, I wish to return to my office. I would like to finish the paperwork I have started.” Not really. Hanzo just wanted to get away from the Elders. He found himself growing more resentful of them as the years had gone by.

  Neikan gave him a glare from across the table, as if shaming him for his decision to leave. “If you must.” He muttered. Hanzo stood up, gave a brisk bow, and moved towards the door.

  “Same time next week?” He joked, quickly leaving before he could see their reactions and beginning the short walk towards his office, his mind wondering back to Genji and thus the promise to leave the clan one day. But every time he saw a window of opportunity to escape, some obstacle would appear, another mission or some ridiculous request from the Elders, causing him to remain in the clan for a little longer.

  When he first made the promise, he didn’t realise that it could take so long before he might be reunited with his brother.

  But it wasn’t always spent in vain. He kept true to his word and dug deep into the past of the Shimada Clan to see how long his family’s legacy has been corrupted. And the truth was terrifying, yet not surprising when Hanzo thought about how he used to be easily influenced by them. Had every other leader before him have been so easily manipulated? Had his father been nothing more than a puppet? Sure, he had coddled Genji to the point that his brother was immune to any threats the Elders made, but Sojiro Shimada had also allowed them to mould Hanzo into what used to be their ‘lap dog’, as Genji had ever so lovingly called him on several occasions.

  Hanzo allowed a gentle sigh to escape his lips as he entered his office, the same one that belonged to his father and all the other leaders of the Clan for who knows how many generations, as he reminisced on how much had changed since that fateful night. Hanzo wondered if Genji would have changed in the ten years since they have seen each other? Is he even still alive?

  “No.” Hanzo whispered, quiet enough that he doubted the guards stationed by the door could hear him. The Genji he knew wouldn’t do something that foolish. Dye his hair bright green without anybody’s consent, yes that was pretty foolish, but not get himself killed unless he was outwitted by somebody, and in this world, not many can stand on the same level, let alone surpass, that of a Shimada. He sighed, shaking his head. Thinking about the past wasn’t going to help him anytime soon. He should be focusing on the future.

  Out of habit and needing something to help calm his nerves, he walked over to one of the bookcases and grabbed the watering can he kept there. Taking a few more steps towards the right of the door, he poured a small amount of water into the pot plant the guard had disturbed earlier. Perhaps it wasn’t a smart idea to keep it so close to the door. Maybe it was better suited closer to the window, in view of the garden where it could catch some sunlight. Maybe then its red and blue buds will finally bloom this year, and he could finally smell that sweet fragrance that drove him into keeping the plant to begin with. Did it truly even need sunlight, or was it one of those plants that thrived in the dark? It had grown under strange circumstances, so Hanzo wouldn’t be surprised if something that most plants relied on didn’t apply to this one.

  He placed the watering can back where it belonged and walked over to the back of his desk and took a seat, looking back through the paperwork he had been working through before he was disturbed.

  Other than the spontaneous announcement that an ally was attacked by Overwatch, he’d noticed that it had been quiet from any of the other rival clans that the Shimada Clan had to deal with on a regular basis. Hanzo figured that if nothing came up, he could potentially be able to slip away within the next few days if he planned every move carefully, provided nothing came up like every other time he had tried. He would just need to make some arrangements to ensure he could leave-

  Without any warning, Hanzo felt a sudden wave of sleepiness, a yawn slipping out his mouth.

  “Impossible.” He muttered. “It’s only one in the afternoon. How can I be so…” Another yawn. He’s only ever felt this tired a few times in his life, and it’s usually after he’s had a big training session. So unless reading through about 50 pages worth of documents counted, he shouldn’t feel tired.

  “Or the Elders are that life-draining.” He thought with a half-hearted and exhausted chuckle.

  Hanzo shook his head, determined to push through the exhaustion. This was the only chance that had come up in a long time, and he didn’t plan on letting this one slip away so easily. He pulled another document over and covered the first one with it, doing his absolute best to ignore the tiredness and figure out a plan.

  Hanzo didn’t realise his head was falling to the desk until it connected with a dull thud, and he drifted off into what he assumed would be a dreamless sleep.

  It wasn’t.


	3. What A Strange Dream...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanzo has a sweet dream, or a nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new-ish chapter 3 that nobody but my dumb brain asked for!

  When Hanzo’s mind finally registered his surroundings, his first observation was that it was dark, with barely any light sources around to make out more than shady silhouettes. What he could see was a thick mishap-cylindrical shape directly to his right, to which he thought to be a tree upon touching it and feeling a barky surface. He looked up and confirmed his suspicions when he saw a patchy silhouette much like the branches and leaves on a tree.

  However, focusing his attention on the branches, he realises that they’re not leaves, but instead tiny flowers and buds that haven’t bloomed yet. This wasn’t just a regular tree, but instead a cherry blossom tree. Paying close attention to how the branches are orientated, Hanzo came to the conclusion that this was the same cherry blossom tree that stood on the outside of the Shimada Castle, the same one he stood under over ten years ago bidding his brother goodbye.

  With the tree right beside him and given how dark his surroundings were, Hanzo’s first thought was that he was in the exact same conditions on the night he last saw his brother. Was he about to relieve the night they had said goodbye? Without noticing, Hanzo began to trace the scar that still remained as he thought of what to do next. Should he wait and see what happened, or did he need to move around to ‘trigger’ anything for the dream to start.

  Yet as he stood there waiting for the dream to begin, or at least for something to happen, he began to realise that there was a strange feeling to all of this.

  The first thing he realised was that he was not a lucid dreamer, he should not have free reign over what he does in any dream, let alone this one, and he shouldn’t have realised that he was dreaming. As a test, he raised his fingers to his face and felt the fine hairs of his beard. That shouldn’t be there, as well the scar he had been tracing earlier. If this was a dream where he relived his final time with his brother, and he has had his fair share of those dreams over the years, he should have taken the appearance of his younger self, never as how he looked now.

  The second thing he noticed was that the atmosphere felt off. It felt heavy and the air he was inhaling was cool like a snowy mountain top when it should have been warmer due to the summer storms that were happening at the time.

  Yet despite these being a sudden realisation to him, Hanzo quickly realised that this wasn’t the first time this had happened to him. Has the demon finally come to collect what the Shimada owed him? Took him long enough to decide to show up.

  After what felt like an eternity, which might have been possible in a dream, Hanzo began to grow impatient.

  “If there is a reason for me to be here, then please hurry. I have much to do.” Hanzo told the air around him.

  He almost did not expect a response. And he certainly did not expect the voice that accompanied it.

  “Apologies, Anija!” A familiar voice called from the bottom of the hill. “I wasn’t sure if this was working or not!”

  “Genji?” Hanzo whispered, walking towards where he heard the voice, not caring how slippery the hill was. He wanted to know what was going on in his dream.

  When he got to the bottom of the hill, it was completely black, and it took a few seconds for Hanzo to realise that wherever he was felt much colder than it should have been. This began to feel more like the other dream he had a long time ago, but why was Genji here, and not the demon like last time?

  Speaking of his brother; despite his voice sounding like it had come from down where he stood, there was nobody else Hanzo could see within the inky blackness.

  “Where are we? Where are you?” He asked frantically.

  “Uhh, hang on one sec!” Genji was silent for a few seconds before he spoke again, accompanied by a slight shifted in the ‘atmosphere’. “Is this how I do it?” His voice sounded closer, but now it sounded everywhere.

  Hanzo spun around and saw a familiar figure standing but a few metres away from him. He looked like a spitting image of how he had last seen the young Shimada ten years ago; messy green hair, clothes slightly ruffled yet straight, and their mother’s scarf wrapped carefully around his neck. It was like he was plucked straight from their last moments together and placed right in this moment.

  “Otōto!” Hanzo cried and rushed forward, reaching his hand out to grab at his brother’s shoulder. But once he was within touching distance, he was shocked when his hand, and entire body, simply phased through his brother. He looked down at his hand, noticing that the scar on his palm had started to faintly glow with a soft blue light.

  “Sorry! I should have warned you ahead of time!” Genji rushed. Hanzo turned back to face his brother and noticed that he too was glowing a faint green, much like when he would summon his dragon, but not so blinding and obvious. His face looked apologetic.

  “What… is going on?” Hanzo asked cautiously, lowering his hand back to his side.

  “I… I honestly don’t know, Hanzo.” Genji, or perhaps the ghost of him, admitted. He looked around the area the two were standing in. “I think this is the place that appears whenever one of us does this?”

  Hanzo slowly nodded. He remembered… existing in such a place long ago, but without the presence of another person. “Wait, one of us?”

  “Yeah, you did this with Jesse all those years ago, right?”

  “Jesse?” Hanzo didn’t know a Jesse.

  “The demon? That’s his name! Ow! What the fuck!?! I’m trying to focus here!” Hanzo frowned at what sounded like his brother arguing with somebody, his form flickering for a few seconds. “Oh, I’m sorry for telling him! What’s he gonna do with it, go to Starbucks and order a coffee with it? Will he implode because of it?”

  “Is that… Jesse?” Hanzo asked hesitantly.

  “Hmm? Oh sorry, brother.” Genji’s form ‘fixed’ itself. “Jesse was telling me he doesn’t want you to call him that. He said McCree is fine though.” Then he quietly muttered “What’s the fucking difference?” Then louder, “He can hear this, by the way.”

  So “McCree” should’ve heard that insult. And yet there was no reaction.

  “Is he the one doing this?” Hanzo asked.

  “Oh no, I’m the one doing this. McCree’s just supervising. Pretty cool, huh, Hanzo?” Genji sounded really proud of that feat.

  “But wait…” Hanzo’s voice drifted off. McCree could get in touch with him due to him having demonic magic. Both Hanzo and Genji had some form of magic as well, but that’s only to summon their dragons, and nobody in the Shimada family has discovered any other way to utilise this magic. And the place that Hanzo was currently in felt exactly like when McCree talked to him all those years ago, with the exception of an extra person. So…

  “Brother… what happened to you?” Hanzo asked, a strain in his voice as he prepared for the worst.

  Genji inhaled sharply through his teeth, something he did whenever he knew he was in trouble. Hanzo almost felt relief at that, knowing that some part of Genji was still the same.

  “Umm…” Genji was silent for a few seconds, fidgeting with the edge of his shirt. “How would react if I told you that…theoretically of course… that the elders somehow figured out I was still alive… and they sent a small army of about ten well-trained ninjas after me… and they left me to die after cutting me up… and then McCree appeared and… we made a deal for me to come back as a demon…? And if theoretically all that happened two years ago…?”

  Hanzo didn’t even say anything. He just felt anger take over his body and thrust him back to the waking world, jolting him away from the desk. It wasn't long before the anger re-consumed him and he immediately pushed himself out of the chair, slamming it into the wall behind him in the process. He got to his feet and vaulted over the desk, knocking over anything that got in the way. The noise alerted the guards outside, who opened the door to check to see what the ruckus was, only for the Leader of the Shimada Clan to push past them and begin running down the hall, towards the meeting room.

  He stopped at the main room, where Genji’s katana was proudly displayed for all to see. He grabbed that, as well as the sheath, before continuing his charge to where he knew the elders would still be having their stupid arguments.

  He barged through the door, interrupting whatever they were talking about. The head elder looked like he was about to have a go at Hanzo, but stopped as he took a good look at the man in front of him; right hand clenched into a fist around the chipped katana, his left in a similar position with its sheath, messy hair from where he had fallen asleep against the desk, and a look of absolute fury all over his face, mostly in his eyes, as tears of frustration leaked out from the corners.

  “You…” He breathed, raising the sword and slowly pointing it at every elder, their eyes going wide with fear and realisation.

  “You killed Genji Shimada! My brother!” Hanzo cried, his voice slightly breaking at the end.


	4. Escape!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanzo finally leaves.

  The head elder’s face changed from fear to anger. “And how did you find out!?!” He demanded.

  “So you admit it?” Hanzo asked. “You admit to being the ones responsible for his death!”

  “We were so careful…” The elder spoke, rising from his seat. “Do you know how hard it is to do anything behind your back? Behind any Shimada’s back? Near impossible!” The comment made Hanzo grit his teeth. It had confirmed what he’d been fearing; they’ve been doing traitorous things behind his family’s back. “How can you lead this clan if you’re not willing to dispose of those that stand in its way?”

  “You seem to be mistaken.” Hanzo stated. “I’m no longer under your command. I haven’t been since having a talk with my little brother all those years ago. Your demand to kill him made me question your motives, and I finally saw the true evil within you all. I’m not blinded by your lies anymore!”

  “I knew all this wasn’t some bullshit coping mechanism to get over that wimp’s death.” The elder said, gesturing at Hanzo and prompting to take a step forward towards the elder. The elder crossed his arms. “You’re too weak and unreasonable to be controlling this clan, much like that pathetic brother of yours. This clan needs somebody who’s better suited, somebody that’s willing to do whatever it takes to help the clan grow and prosper. We’ll find that somebody. Your service is no longer needed.”

  Hanzo couldn’t help the snort that came out. “And what makes you think that I’m planning on letting you lot leave this room alive?” He asked.

  The elder’s quick movement caught Hanzo off-guard, causing him to move a second too late. The elder had pulled something out from underneath his arm and pointed it at the Shimada. Hanzo charged forward, but the elder pulled the trigger, and Hanzo felt two small probes impale him in the chest, before suddenly receiving the worst shock of his life. Hanzo cried out in pain, the katana falling from his grasp as he fell to his knees. He’d been shocked before, when out fulfilling assignments he’d come across the odd electric fence he’d had to endure. But somehow all that felt like a pinch in comparison to what he was feeling right now. It felt like every part of him was burning, as if he was repeatedly getting struck by lightning. What was the power of that taser?

  Outside the ringing in his ears, Hanzo could hear the sounds of guards entering the room. It was then that the elder released his death grip from the trigger, allowing Hanzo a moment of painless bliss to overcome his body before he collapsed onto the ground, grasping to stay conscious.

  “Seize him!” The elder shouted. There was a moment of hesitation, Hanzo figured because to them, he was still the Head of the clan. “Did you bastards hear me!?! He’s a traitor, just like his brother! Now hold him down before he escapes!”

  One of the guards finally responded, roughly grabbing Hanzo around the torso and squeezing him like a python would with its prey, pushing the probes of the taser further into his chest, causing him to cry out in pain. He could already feel blood begin to leak from the wounds, instantly getting absorbed into his shirt.

  “How fitting, that your brother died by our hands, and now you will too, Shimada.” The elder spoke tauntingly.

  “Go to hell, Neikan…” Hanzo growled, loud enough for the man to hear.

  “I’ll see you there, then.” Neikan stated. Talk about getting the last word in.

  Suddenly, Hanzo noticed the guard holding him was beginning to breathe funny, like he was about to have an asthma attack. A few seconds later, the guard was coughing, and was quick to release Hanzo from his grasp. Two more guards quickly approached to apprehend him. Hanzo was too distracted and weak to stop them, his eyes on the guard that was clutching his throat.

  No, Hanzo realised. He wasn’t clutching at his throat. He was clawing at his throat, like he was trying to pry hands away from it. But the back of his head had been brushing against the guard’s throat, and he couldn’t feel anything grasping it. And even now, there wasn’t anything there that the guard to get rid of. At least, none that he could see…

  “Stop this stupidity!” The head elder demanded.

  “He… hel…” The guard tried to speak, but was interrupted by more coughing.

  “Brother?” Hanzo muttered. Not quietly enough apparently, as all the elders heard, to his surprise.

  “No…” One elder spoke. “It shouldn’t be…”

  “The brat’s back to haunt us!” Neikan declared. This caused all the elder to rise from their seat and rush towards the door. Neikan stopped and pointed at the remaining guards. “Take care of this menace!” He shouted before running out the room.

  All the guards drew their katanas and formed a half-circle around the former Head of the Shimada Clan. All Hanzo could do was glare at them and ignore the one who had collapsed on the floor, still struggling to breathe. They held their positions, Hanzo watching them to see who’d make the first move. After a few seconds, one guard who was feeling particularly plucky stepped forward and made a motion to slice his head off. Hanzo closed his eyes, waiting for the blade to cut into his skin.

  The swing never made it. Instead, Hanzo heard a scream pierce his ears. He opened one eye to see the guard clutching the side of his face, blood running between his fingers.

  “Demon!” The guard on his left gasped, loosening his grip on Hanzo’s arm by accident.

  That was all he needed.

  Pushing the pain away, Hanzo wretched his right arm free and elbowed the man square in the ribs before turning to the other guard and thrusting the palm of his hand under the man’s chin, causing his head to fly back and releasing Hanzo’s other arm. Quickly, he pulled the probes from his chest, dropped them to the floor and grabbed the dropped katana, brandishing it in front of him, daring any of the remaining guards to approach him. They should know how deadly he was with any weapon, a katana being one of his specialities. Facing against him was certain death.

  Apparently, somebody didn’t get the memo, as one sprinted forward, ready to swipe at his legs. At least he had the audacity to aim for something that could be a real problem if Hanzo had allowed the swing to hit. He almost felt bad for decapitating him before the blade got close. Almost. The remaining guards back up as far away from Hanzo as the room allowed, giving him space to walk over to the door, keeping the blade pointing at them, his burning gaze not leaving them until the door closed behind him. A second later, the sounds of screams came from the room, startling Hanzo into dropping his weapon again.

  “What the fuck…” He muttered, backing away from the door.

  “Sorry, sugar.” A voice thick with Southerness echoed out of nowhere. “Genji kinda lost control.”

  “McCree?” Hanzo asked, looking around as if expecting the dark-eyed cowboy to be here with him, before his eyes went back to the door he just left from. “All that is Genji’s doing?”

  “Yep!” The familiar chirpy voice of his brother entered his mind, though it was laced with something akin to a growl. Hanzo placed a hand against his forehead, covering his left eye. He could feel the slight pulse of a headache invading his brain along with the voices. “But enough bragging. You need to leave the castle now, before more guards come around.”

  Hanzo nodded, regretting it when he felt the pain move with it. “Understood.” He quickly grabbed the katana and stuck it into its sheath before lightly jogging down the hallway, careful not to make any noise and encourage the headache any more than it already is, along with the pain he already had from getting electrocuted. Soon enough he was outside the front doors, squinting at the bright sun.

  “Head towards the cherry blossom tree where we last saw each other.” Genji instructed, his voice sounding normal again. Hanzo headed towards the part of the wall that was the easiest to climb.

  “How come you can speak to me now, when before you needed me to be asleep?” Hanzo asked in a hushed tone, not wanting to attract attention to where he is.

  “That’s usually what happens to a human when a demon contacts them for the first time, they just fall asleep.” McCree explained. Hanzo could almost feel the man shrug. “Somethin’ about the brain needing to adapt to each demon’s powers or somethin’. At least that was the explanation I was given.” That might explain why the first time Hanzo spoke to McCree was in a dream.

  With practiced ease, Hanzo maneuvered over the wall and landed gently on the other side. He wobbled for a few seconds, feeling a rush of nausea hit him like a freight train. Taking a couple of deep breaths to steady himself, he set out at a leisurely pace to the hill just outside the Shimada estate. He tucked the katana underneath his left arm and raised his hands to rub at his temples, the headache getting slightly worse. Today was stressing him out too much. Finding out Genji was killed, almost getting killed himself, and having literal voices in his head was starting to get to him. He’d need a good long rest after all this has settled.

  Finally, he arrived at the base of the hill where the cherry blossom proudly stood. It looked like it hadn’t changed a bit since the last time Hanzo stood there, but he knew it had changed as much as he had, if he may get metaphorical for a moment.

  “Now what?” He asked.

  Suddenly, Hanzo stopped breathing. He tried to take a breath, but no air would enter his system. He grabbed at his throat, trying to make some sort of noise to alert the invisible demons of his distress, but his voice-box refused to work. He fell to his knees, squeezing his eyes shut as he fought to stay alive, feeling blackness consuming his mind.

  Hadn’t he gone through enough within the last hour!?!

  Hanzo was certain that he had blacked out for only a second, but when he came around, he way lying on his side on what was not grass. Instead it felt like carpet or perhaps a rug. Most of his senses were still sluggishly returning to him, but his sense of hearing was in full working order, if hearing two people freaking out above him was any indicator of it.

  “Jesse! What happened!?!”

  “Fuck, that was a bad time to teleport!”

  “What does that mean!?!”

  “He’s injured! He was electrocuted, remember? It has an impact on how humans can teleport!”

  “Is that blood!?!”

  “You tell me, blood-sniffer!”

  Hanzo felt himself get rolled onto his back as somebody began to rip his shirt off. He tried to voice his displeasure, but all that came was a quiet groan. It was loud enough for the two to hear him.

  “Hanzo!?! Brother!?! It’ll be fine!” Hanzo felt a separate pair of hands clasp the sides of his face. “McCree will fix you up, then we can live a normal life, away from the clan! We have so much to catch up on! Ten years worth of it!”

  “Can ya knock him out? I’d rather not have him feel the magic healing him…”

  “Sure! I’ll see you whenever McCree’s done. Just... get some rest, brother...”

  Before he could try to do anything else, Hanzo’s mind slipped into darkness.


	5. The Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanzo and Genji reunite!

  Consciousness returned to Hanzo’s mind slowly, and with it a throbbing headache. He carefully brought one of his hands up to his eyes to rub at them, a quiet groan escaping his throat.

  He could feel a slight ache travel across his arm as he moved it. He wondered why for a brief moment before the events came crashing back in full-force. He gasped and lurched forward, sending a ripple of pain across his entire body.

  “Ahh…” He groaned out, slowly retreating and relaxing back into the comfy blankets he was resting in and on, allowing the pain to fade away on its own. He opened his eyes, giving them time to adjust to the dim lights that still seemed to hurt. Once they could tolerate the lights, he looked around the room he was in.

  It was empty, save for himself and his mountain of blankets.

  A poorly-plastered ceiling greeted him, with stark off-white walls holding it up, streaks of light leaking out of the tacky patterned curtains that hung over the windows. The floors, whilst clean to Hanzo’s relief, were about as dull as the rest of the room; the kind of grey you see in most households. Cobwebs decorated the corners and upper walls of the room, tiny daddy-long-legs' barely visible from Hanzo’s perspective.

  He never felt more relieved to see something that was not the familiar walls of the palace.

  Yet he kept his guard up. His last memories had McCree and Genji’s voices in them, and yet wherever he currently was looked like nobody had stayed in it for a long time.

  He attempted to move his arms again, much slower this time, and was still greeted with pain, albeit much smaller than what he had experienced before, but still very much there. He couldn’t risk moving.

   He laid there for god-knows how long, slowly blinking at the ceiling as his mind began to wander. His body was sore due to everything that happened, or so he rationalised. He had no clue as to what the cowboy and his brother had been up to whilst he was out.

  The cowboy, a demon. And his brother, also a demon. Hanzo didn’t realise the significance of that until now. Before, he was focused solely on the fact that the Elders had sent somebody to kill Genji, and succeeded. The fact that Genji was now no longer human had only just truly registered in Hanzo’s mind, and as he thought more on it, he began to feel mixed emotions about the situation, confusion, anger, fear; all trying to make themselves present in Hanzo’s mind. Trying to determine how he’ll react when he will eventually have to meet up with him.

  ‘But you already met up with Genji technically’, a part of Hanzo’s mind offered. And yes. Back at Shimada Castle, Genji spoke to him in his mind. And he didn’t sound or act any different than to how he remembered him from ten years ago. Other than being able to completely tear apart a trained group of body guards without leaving the comforts of his home. Perhaps Genji wasn’t too different after all.

  He didn’t realise how occupied his mind was until he had settled his thoughts and realised his eyes had closed some time during his moment, but shortly after that he heard the door quietly creak open followed by slight shuffling.

  “Who’s there?” He asked, his voice still croaky.

  “Just me, darlin’.” The familiar voice of McCree spoke. Hanzo opened one eye to see the same man he shook hands with years ago, and other than wearing the clothing he had worn that night - no serape, hat, boots, or chaps, but a simple flannel shirt and grey trackpant with socked feet - he looked more or less the same, except with better lighting condition; Messy hair that turned out to be brown, and those black eyes with the faintest speckles of red in each.

  “How ya feeling, darlin’?” McCree asked, walking closer to the man on the floor.

  “If I move, it feels like I got run over by a steamroller.” Hanzo replied.

  McCree chuckled. “Yeah, wouldn’t be surprised after all that ya went through.” He knelt by Hanzo’s head and placed his flesh hand against his forehead. “’S too much for a mortal to handle, I reckon. I’m amazed you weren’t already passed out when we got to ya.”

  “Years of discipline has that effect on a man.” Hanzo suggested.

  McCree nodded, pulling his hand away and standing up. “Ya still a little warm, but I reckon a bit of our healing stuff will fix ya up. Genji’s coming with some right now.”

  “… Alright.” Hanzo hoped McCree didn’t notice the pause.

  “Ya nervous, sugar?”

  He noticed! Hanzo didn’t reply.

  “’S alright to be nervous. Not like he’s no different. All he’d go on about while you were resting was how you’d react to everything. I’m sure everything will work out in the end.”

  Knowing that Genji was just as nervous as he was brought some comfort to Hanzo, until Genji entered the room, stopping once he realised Hanzo was looking at him.

  The brothers just stared at each other, simply observing how much the two have changed during their time apart.

  To Hanzo, Genji hasn’t changed a bit. He still wore the same loud shirts with obscure words on the front along with what looked to be comfy pyjama bottoms, his hair was still the shocking green he had surprised everybody in the clan with once and refused to change, and his ever-present metal headband remained glued to his forehead. But there was something different to Genji, something Hanzo can’t quite put his finger on. Perhaps it was the way he held himself, or something about his face. He pushed it to the side; it can be dealt with later.

  To Genji, Hanzo had changed in every way possible. No longer was his face freshly shaven; now his jaw and upper lip were lined with what would’ve been a well-kept beard if it hadn’t gone for a while without a trim. His hair was not past his shoulders and pure-black, now it stopped just shy of his shoulders and grey hairs were already well established near his ears. But Genji could also tell that Hanzo was different in other ways as well.

  Neither of them said a word as Genji approached and knelt beside Hanzo. Placing the bottle by McCree, he reached for Hanzo’s exposed arm, hesitating when he was just within reach.

  “Hanzo…” Genji started.

  Hanzo ignored the pain that would erupt across his body in favour of pulling his little brother closer to give him a ten-year-in-the-waiting hug, crushing him against his chest like he could single-handedly protect him against the world. He could feel tears falling down his cheeks and onto Genji’s shirt as his brother returned the hug with equal force, not doing any good to Hanzo’s aching body.

  “I missed you, Otōto.” Hanzo whispered.

  “Me too, Anija.” Genji replied, his voice cracking as his emotions got the better of him as well.

  When Genji pulled back, Hanzo gave a soft gasp once he saw what his brother truly looked like now. His skin was no longer the pale shade it was before, now it was an ashy-dark blue, with red markings brushed around his eyes. A pair of horns protruded from his forehead, jutting out until just past the top of his head. His eyes also caught Hanzo off-guard; whilst McCree’s were pitch-black with the tiniest spots of red, Genji’s were completely white instead of the familiar brown he had seen only moments ago.

  The only telling sign that it was still his brother was the familiar shape of his face, and the fact that his hair was still that atrocious shade of green.

  Hanzo pulled Genji back into him, choosing not to say anything about his appearance. In turn, Genji did not press on the matter. Until McCree chose to interrupt the moment.

  “As much as I like brotherly bonding, Hanzo still needs to recover, remember?” McCree stated, taking a seat by the siblings and picking up the bottle of healing stuff meant for Hanzo.

  “Ah… apologies.” Hanzo replied, gently nudging Genji away from him. “It’s… been so long…”

  “I know, brother.” Genji inputted. The bottle was passed to Hanzo, lid removed. “You’re… not bother by my appearance?”

  Hanzo stared at the contents of the bottle as he pondered his response, a sickly green liquid sloshing against the sides even from the smallest of movements.

  “I’m more confused than bothered.” Hanzo replied, his voice gradually getting less croaky the more he spoke. “Why does McCree look more normal than you, and… how did you look normal before?”

  All Genji did was shrug and look at McCree for a proper response.

  “Really helpful, I see.” Hanzo said. He saw Genji’s shoulders shake as a response.

  “Well, from what I know,” McCree began. “It’s different for each demon. Some look more human whilst others have a more drastic appearance.” He gestured between himself and Genji with his metal hand, the cap of the bottle between his finger and thumb. “Could be because of where they’re from, or who they’re turner is, or how badly damaged they were before they made the deal. It’s different for most demons.”

  “Most?”

  “Well, demons that are related tend to bear resemblance to each other, ya know, genetics and stuff like that.”

  Hanzo nodded. “Makes sense.”

  “I managed to look like my old self was something us demons call an ‘Illusion’, because that’s what it is; it’s more or less a magical disguise we use to hide our otherwise telling features.” Genji explained, looking back to his brother.

Hanzo lifted the drink up, ignoring the slight ache it brought. “And what is in this, exactly?”

  Genji smiled, and Hanzo noticed that his teeth were now different as well. On his top and bottom row, where the sharper teeth usually are, they were much longer, more like fangs, if fangs were curled, much like those on the Hannya masks they had grown up seeing in markets and during performances.

  “A special brew I made! It’s supposed to heal the body of minor aches and pains instantly!” He sounded really proud of this feat he’d accomplished, and it drew a faint smile across Hanzo’s lips.

  “It’s not going to kill me, correct?” Hanzo inquired.

  McCree answered this time. “It shouldn’t. If it does, we’ll just blame Genji’s bad cooking.”

  A playful growl left Genji’s throat. “Just drink it, Hanzo. Please.”

  “Okay then.” Hanzo pressed the ring of the bottle to his lips and tipped his head back, downing it all in one go. He could feel the effects as the liquid travelled down his throat and spread throughout his body, like rubbing a freshly-frozen ice-pack across it after a particularly heavy training session. He couldn’t help the hum of content escape his throat.

  “You like it that much?” Genji’s amused voice asked. Hanzo opened his eyes – when did he close them? – to see his brother staring at him expectantly. A quick glance around the room showed it to be lacking McCree.

  “Where did McCree go?” Hanzo asked.

  “Jesse went to find something you can sleep on instead of our blankets, since you’ll be living with us for the foreseeable future.” Genji explained.

  “Yous live together? Since when?” Hanzo pressed.

  “Umm…” Genji actually looked embarrassed, breaking eye contact and wringing his hands, something his usually confident-filled brother never did. “… Shortly after we got together…”

  “You’re dating him!?!” Hanzo cried out, voice slightly breaking at the end.

  “Not anymore!” Genji replied, waving his hands in front of him. “We decided it wasn’t working after just over a year! But we still liked each other enough to live together, so we got a place big enough for each of us to have our own room, as well as one extra, for no real reason… Are you okay brother? You look like you’re about to have a heart attack.”

  “I feel like it.” Hanzo replied, staring at the wall ahead of him instead of at his brother. “I’ve truly missed much since we parted ways. You’ve actually stayed in a relationship for more than a week, and I wasn’t here for it.”

  Genji gave him an unamused look. “I’ve had relationships that have bypassed one week!”

  “Name one.”

  “Uhh…”

  “That’s what I thought.”

  “Wow, brother. You’ve really let yourself go from the Elders. I’m proud of you!” Genji clapped Hanzo on his shoulder.

  Hanzo smiled. “That’s what I was hoping for.”

  “But you’re out of the clan now, so you can live however you want now!” Hanzo’s face fell. “What’s wrong? You’re not planning on going back now, are you?”

  “No.” Hanzo replied quickly. “I never want to go back. Not if I can help it. But the last time I saw them, I remember Neikan saying how they’ll find another person to run the clan; somebody more suitable.”

  Genji visibly bristled at the name, as slight growl like a cat’s rumbling in his throat. “I had hopes that fucker had died of old age.”

  “Me two, brother.” Hanzo pushed the blankets off his body and stood, stretching his body and hearing his bones crack back into place. “As much as I would love to relax and catch back up with whatever else I have missed other than you’re love-life,” he chuckled at Genji’s glare from the floor. “I cannot truly rest until the Shimada Clan is gone for good. It’s too far gone for us to save it.”

  He gave his full attention to his brother. “I won’t ask you to help me, but if you can allow me this one final task, then we won’t let anything else happen.”

  Genji rose and slung his arm around his older brother, giving him an extra-toothy grin. “And what makes you think I don’t want to help you on this conquest of yours? They’re the reason I’m like this in the first place, and why we were separated for so long. If you’re kicking some elder-ass, then count me in!”

  Hanzo stared at Genji, before returning the smile with equal force. “Let’s fuck them up.”


	6. Tea & Plotting Murder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's talking, remembering, and plotting.

  “So Genji informed me that yous are planning to head back home to deal with some last remaining problems.” McCree stated as Hanzo cautiously navigated his way into the kitchen and around the island in the middle where McCree was seated at to where Genji had informed him the medicine was kept. He’d only left the room the two had given him a couple of times during his recovery, and all those times he’d had an escort since his legs were constantly struck with pins and needles from a lack of use. This time he’d been insistent on doing something for himself. He'd never been more fearful of a set of stairs in his life than just a few minutes ago.

  “We are.” Hanzo replied, opening a cupboard by the fridge to check the contents. Nothing in there that would help him unless he wanted to reignite his sweet-tooth. “We haven’t decided on anything concrete yet. Just a few general ideas on what we may do.” He opened the cupboard on the other side of the fridge. Bingo.

  “I assumed the plan was to just murder everybody.” McCree said, observing Hanzo as he grabbed a pill-bottle to read the hand-written label.

  “That’s the end result.” Hanzo set the bottle on the counter and reached back in to grab at a glass bottle. “There’s much that needs to be thought over first, such as how we get in and what to do once we are in. How much of this do I need to take?” He held the bottle out for McCree to see.

  “About a cap-full.” Hanzo withdrew his hand and unscrewed the top, McCree watching him carefully as he poured a few drops into the small cap before downing it like a shot at a bar. “Nice to see you’ve grown a tolerance for it.”

  “I’m tired of bed-rest. I wish to do something.” Hanzo informed him.

  “Understandable. Genji’s like that as well. Must be a Shimada thing.”

  “It is definitely a Shimada thing.” Hanzo smiled, thinking back to when the two were younger and he had to force Genji to stay in bed whenever he was sick. Did demons ever get sick? The fact that they have a cupboard full of medicine suggested something of the sorts can happen to them.

  “Well once you’re better, how about we head out and show you around town? It’s a really nice place.” McCree offered as Hanzo put away the bottles.

  “I might take you up on that, thank you.” It was then that Hanzo looked over to see what the cowboy was doing. It caught him off-guard that he was on a phone whilst eating a sandwich of some sorts, barely kept together in his metal hand. What… a normal thing to do.

  Hanzo must’ve stared for too long, because McCree looked up at him, black eyes meeting his.

  “What? Do I have somethin’ on my face?” McCree raised his flesh hand to wipe at a cheek.

  “No… I was just surprised.” Hanzo admitted. “You… have a phone.” He could feel his own cheeks warm in embarrassment.

  “Sure I do, darlin’. Very conventional thing to have at hand. Plus it’s got my games on it.” He went to take another bite of his sandwich when he paused, glancing back at Hanzo. “… is it because I’m a demon?”

  Hanzo covered his mouth, looking down at the ground and hoping the floor would open up and take him to Hell. But knowing his luck, demons would be able to go to hell, so McCree would just follow him down to ask the same question.

  “Hey, nothin’ to be embarrassed about! I understand. You were probably thinkin’ we did other things more suited for beings like us.” McCree tried to reassure.

  “I apologise. I should’ve known better.” Hanzo bowed deeply, wobbling slightly at the sudden movement. “I did not mean to offend you.”

  “Nah, it’s all good, darlin’. You’re still new with all of this.”

  “… Is there any tea here? I think I need a cup.”

  “Oh sure.” McCree rose from his seat and moved to a separate cupboard, opening it and taking out a box Hanzo recognised as a type of tea Genji was partial to, though it should've been very hard to come by.  “You right in making it yourself?”

  “I think I can manage.” Hanzo leaned on the island for support as he walked over to McCree and took the box handed to him. He moved over to where an electric kettle sat, filled with enough water for one cup of tea. “Would you like one?” Hanzo offered.

  “Nah, tea’s not really my thing, sorry.” McCree placed a mug by the kettle as Hanzo turned it on. “I’ll be in the living room if you need anything.”

  “Thank you.” Hanzo nodded. He heard McCree shuffle away. He quietly let out a sigh and rubbed his face, waiting for the water to boil.

  Thankfully he felt less embarrassed once he had a nice mug of sakuraya tea in his hands. Taking a small sip, he indulges in the taste he’s only had a few times during the ten-year gap. He remembered when Genji first discovered his love for sakuraya; it was during their teens at a wedding for one of the associates of the clan. He almost drained the reception dry of their supply and has demanded it to be made for him ever since. Hanzo smiled fondly at the memory.

  It was back when their father was alive, back when times were simpler.

  Hanzo shook his head and slowly walked out of the kitchen. Now wasn’t the time to get caught up in those thoughts.

  Once he entered the living room, Hanzo was greeted by the sight of Genji lying on a dark couch, holo-pad in hand as he typed away. No sign of McCree however, despite what he’d told Hanzo beforehand.

  “Greetings.” Hanzo said, making his way to a matching armchair.

  “Yo.” Genji greeted, heaving himself upright, his green hair bouncing against his forehead and horns. “How are you feeling?”

  “Much better.” Hanzo nodded as he se his mug on the coffee table before taking a seat. “What are you working on?”

  “Ideas for when we visit home.” Genji explained, waving the pad. “Has much changed since I was last there?”

  “In terms of renovations? Surprisingly not that much. Some rooms have been changed around to serve a new purpose, but other than that, nothing big has changed.”

  Genji nodded. “Good, it’ll make sneaking in easier, since you’re against teleporting in.”

  “After my first time, I’m reluctant to try it again.”

  Genji shrugged. “Whatever you say. By the way, brother, Jesse told me you didn’t know demons used phones.” He smirked his trade-mark shit-eating grin.

  Hanzo covered his face in embarrassment. “I’ve already been embarrassed enough today, thank you!”

  “Oh, I didn’t intend to embarrass you. That was just a bonus. But in all fairness, I remember having a similar reaction when Jesse started hanging out with me.”

  “Was that before or after yous had sex?” Hanzo asked, moving his hands to see his brother’s reaction. He was satisfied when Genji looked flabbergasted and looked away from him, his cheeks puffed up in irritation. It brought a smile to Hanzo’s face.

  “Very funny brother.” Genji replied.

  “It was after, wasn’t it?” McCree quipped, entering the room. Hanzo laughed as Genji chucked a pillow at the other demon, cursing at him in Japanese.

  “That’s not a nice thing to say about his father, Genji.” Hanzo scolded playfully.

  “Ah, whatever. I met the old man. I can say whatever I want.” Genji raised his hand and the pillow flew back.

  “Really?” Hanzo asked, slightly distracted by his brother’s trick.

  “Yep, gave Genji a real hard time, questioning him on everything like an over-protective dad meeting his daughter’s boyfriend.” McCree reminisced.

  “Jesse, I swear to whatever god you believe in, I will kill you with your hat. Do not doubt me.” Genji threatened.

  “Naw, sugar, I know you love me.” McCree teased, a playful smile on his face.

  Genji threw his hands in the air. “I give up! I’ll take the Elders over you two! They’re practically demons anyway! I’d be right at home!”

  Hanzo suddenly stopped laughing. “Wait, are any of the Elders demons?”

  Genji lost his smile at the sudden realisation of his words. “I… actually have no idea…” He admitted. Both brothers looked at the demon expert.

  “Well… I didn’t sense anything when we helped Hanzo. But some demons are really good at cloaking their presence, especially if they’re old. You know what they say; with age comes wisdom.”

  “But… it would make sense if at least one of them is a demon.” Genji pondered. “It would explain how they were able to find me despite my amazing hiding skills.”Despite the joke, nobody laughed.

  Hanzo reached over and picked up his forgotten mug of tea, taking a sip that no longer filled him with the warmth from earlier. Whether it’s due to the current situation or the mug having sat there for longer than it should, he didn’t care.

  “Brother,” Hanzo began. “I know we were planning on just us two going to finish the Elders off. But… I think we may need to rethink a few things.”

  “Agreed.” Genji nodded.

  Hanzo turned to look at McCree. “McCree, since you are more experienced at demons than either of us, would it be any trouble for you to guide us on our mission. You don’t have to come with us, we’d just need-“

  “Woah there!” McCree interrupted. “I’m not one for standing around and letting others have the fun. It’s been a while since I got to bring justice to some no-good criminals, so I-“

  “Wait, explain that part!” Hanzo demanded.

  “Umm, it’s part of my job, to stop people from doing bad and illegal things. Genji's a part of it. I’ll explain later, but what I’m trying to say is I’ll go where you need me to go.”

  Hanzo looked at him, the smile returning to his face. “Very well then, McCree.”

  “Oh, and by the way, sugar, you can call me Jesse now. I'd say we're on much better terms now.”

  "Indeed, we are."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look, there's the McHanzo I wanted! It was hiding behind a writer's block!
> 
> Also shout-out to staringatstars for coming up with the best insult I've ever read in the last update. I had to use it at some point!


	7. Spirit-Travel & A Pocket Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The three begin planning, with the help of demon magic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: I need to make a bridge between two chapters, I reckon it'll only take three pages  
> Me *Several days and 7 pages later*: What even is a story?
> 
> Here’s the bridge chapter that I promised! Feel free to let me know if this is a good enough bridge between Chapter 5 and the Christmas Chapter. If not, then I can just make another chapter to fill it in even more.

  To Hanzo, it felt like decades had passed since the last time he’d walked without any issues. Even now, two weeks after he’d first appeared in the apartment due to demon magic, and he still felt an ache in his body, albeit a dull one. He was on the brink of believing that it will never go away.

  He was also feeling the onset of boredom and angst creeping up on him. It had been so long that he’d done anything remotely productive. Sure, Genji and McCree talked to him several times a day, retelling many of the misadventures they’d been on together or by themselves (Like the time Genji needed to get out of a bad date, so he begged McCree to scare the girl away in “the most terrifying way possible”, causing the girl to pass out on the side of the road), and in turn he told them stories of what went on at the Shimada Clan (Like the time he went out to a fancy restaurant one night and one of the chefs was supposed to poison his food at the request of a rival clan, but he was so nervous he just blurted it out in front of Hanzo and everybody eating).

  But there was only so long he could go on without doing something. He was starting to feel desperate, especially since he wanted to get on with destroying the clan and Elders. He did give them intel on important things like the routine of the guards and the Elders, however he worried that after what had transpired before he left, the Elders changed everything, so planning anything out was becoming more of a nuisance than anything. Things weren’t looking good for the three of them.

  Thankfully, a solution had presented itself to him whilst he was resting in his bedroom.

  “Brother? You awake?” Hanzo heard Genji’s voice in his mind whilst trying to read a book McCree had left for him, some hand-written journal about the types of demons Jesse’s encountered in the sixty-plus years of living.

  “Unfortunately.” Hanzo answered.

  “Good! Because Jesse and I have figured out a way for you to help us while you’re recovering.” Genji informed. Hanzo closed the book.

  “How?”

  “First, wait for us to come back home.”

  Hanzo groaned. “I just got excited at the idea!”

  He could imagine Genji laughing in real life. “Apologies, brother. But it’ll be much easier when we’re all together.”

  “Fine. Guess I’ll keep trying to distract myself.”

  “You do that.”

  “Dishonour on the both of you.”

  “Naw, thanks bro!”

  Hanzo could hear McCree’s voice in the background asking “What’d I do?” before Genji hung up.

……

  “About time you two showed up!” Since Genji’s little thought-message, Hanzo could barely wait for his roommates to return from wherever they went to, anxiously waiting in the lounge room with the TV acting as a pathetic distraction to his buzzing mind.

  “Sorry, pumpkin.” McCree shrugged. “Genji’s an evil bastard; got his hair dyed just to keep you waiting.”

  “I did not!” Genji protested. “It was a scheduled appointment! It’d be a waste if I didn’t go!”

  “Yeah yeah, keep telling yourself that.” McCree grabbed something from the bag he was carrying and tossed it to Hanzo, who grunted of pain when it made contact with his hand. “Hold onto that, won’t you?”

  Hanzo opened his hand to see a strange azure crystal slightly smaller than the palm of his hand. That explains why it hurt so much. “What is this?”

  “Fluorite. It’ll help with what we’re doing.”

  “And that is?”

  “We’re gonna spirit-travel.”

  Hanzo blinked. “Excuse me?”

  “Take a seat, brother.” Genji gestured to the floor where Hanzo was standing. He seemed oddly excited at whatever was gonna happen. “It’s what I did to get to the palace to fuck up the guards.”

  “Why don’t we just do that instead of heading over there physically?” But Hanzo felt like he already knew the answer.

  “Well other than the fact that you wouldn’t be able kill anybody as a spirit, won’t it be more satisfying to kill them with our own hands?”

  “I mean, if it’s as a spirit, I’m sure it’d be satisfying to some degree.” Hanzo quipped as he knelt on the rug as the other two took their seats so they formed a triangle, with Genji sitting cross-legged while Jesse sat in a pose that would be considered “ungentlemanly”.

  “Depends on how ya feel, I guess.” McCree fished around in his bag some more until he pulled out a pad of paper and one of those pens that has multiple colours. He then proceeded to hand them to Genji. “So this is what’s gonna happen, you and I are gonna spirit-travel back to the Shimada Castle and survey the area, checking on the guards, the Elders, and any routes that can act as ways in. Meanwhile, Genji will stay here so he can take notes I pass on to him, so we can use to further our plan. We’ll do this every day or so to get as much as we can for our infiltration. Got it?”

  “Why not send Genji? He’s more familiar with the layout of the castle.” Hanzo asked.

  “Because this is your first time, and since I’ve done it several hundred times, it’s in our best interest if I’m the one helping you.” McCree explained. “Any more questions?”

  “One more.” Hanzo held up the fluorite in his hand. “What am I to do with this?”

  “Fluorite is one of the best stones for concentrating, especially for studying, which seems appropriate to what we’re doing. Use that as a focus if you feel yourself slipping.”

  Hanzo won’t lie about feeling nervous. “What’s the worst thing that can happen?”

  McCree looked thoughtful. “To my knowledge, the only thing that could happen is feeling disconnected from your body, like you’re not really all there. But even then, that has different effects for different people. Some may feel only a bit lost, or they could feel completely gone. Some might only get one of those feelings for a couple of hours, and others would go the rest of their lives never feeling whole again. It usually depends on how strong of a mind you have. You’ve said yourself that you’re a disciplined man, so you shouldn’t have to worry about something big and long-lasting happening to you.”

  “I feel so reassured.” Hanzo said sarcastically. “But that is what I asked, so thank you for being honest.” He added afterwards.

  “My pleasure.” McCree smiled briefly. “Now let’s get started. I want you to relax your body, like you’re trying to fall asleep.”

  “Or meditating.” Genji offered. McCree nodded in agreement.

  Hanzo hummed, taking a deep breath through his nose, closing his eyes, and letting it out through his mouth. This was his go-to calming technique. It worked many times when the Elders pestered him, but he chose to ignore that part and instead focused on the task at hand. Blocking out all sounds was the next step, and like before, it came naturally to him. The only sounds he acknowledged was his own breathing and the faint thumping of his heart as it slowed its beating to match his relaxed state.

  Very faintly, he could feel something tugging at his chest. He felt his eyebrows furrow. This was not something he had ever felt while meditating. Perhaps this was Jesse’s doing then. Either way, he was powerless in this situation; the tugging remained persistent, perhaps even stronger now that a few seconds have passed. Yet he continued to breathe as normally and naturally as he could, allowing the tugging to take him away.

  Sometime later, Hanzo wasn’t certain if it was seconds or hours, and the feeling finally lessened, though he could still feel it slightly if he focused.

  “Hanzo?” McCree’s voice penetrated his thoughts. “You can open your eyes now.”

  Hanzo cautiously opened one eye, inhaling sharply when he was greeted with the walls his office back in the Shimada Estate. He knelt on the floor in front of his old desk in the same position he started this strange journey in. He opened his other eye and looked around for where the cowboy could be.

  He found the man standing by the window, looking out the window at the garden outside. He remembered Genji being very fond of that garden, using it as a place to hide from everybody whenever he needed to escape whilst grounded. A stone bench sat underneath the shade of a cherry blossom tree, surrounded by bushes of many different flowers that unfortunately weren’t in bloom during autumn. A few feet away from the tree was a pond with an inbuilt waterfall that was home to several colourful koi that had been living there for a long as the brothers could remember, maybe even longer.

  “Is that the garden Genji told me about?” He spoke. “Matches the description, but I had thought those bastards you worshipped would want that gone.”

  Hanzo rose from his seat and carefully walked around the desk to him. “Surprisingly, they don’t. It’s been in the family for too long. Even they can respect to something once in a while.”

  “A shame it’s not real people they give respect to.” Jesse turned to face the eldest Shimada, making eye contact with him before recoiling slightly. “Shit! Forgot that happened.” He placed a hand to where his heart would be.

  “What? What is it?” Hanzo asked.

  “Your eyes are completely white.” McCree answered as if it was a normal thing to happen.

  “What!?!” Hanzo’s first instinct was to grab a mirror and see for himself, but there was no mirror or reflective surface in sight, which scared him even more.

  “I know. It’s really creepy. But it’s a normal thing to happen when spirit-travelling. Your eyes are doing it right now back at home.”

  “What!?!” Hanzo repeated, feeling a tightness in his chest as panic enter his system. Why was he panicking? He never panicked. At least not on this level.

  Hanzo felt Jesse place his hands on his shoulders and give them a squeeze, like he was trying to bring some sense back into him. But there was cold, and had no familiar hand-shape to it; it felt more like somebody was just pressing an invisible object onto him.

  “Your stone!” Jesse’s voice sounded slightly faint, but he was still very much there.

  Hanzo, desperate to stay in the present, tried to find the gemstone McCree had given him and focused onto identifying it, surprised by how easy it was to find despite his current situation. He focused on the texture of the crystal, smooth with sharp corners and a chill all over despite Hanzo holding it god-knows how long by now.

  “Are you with me still, partner?” McCree asked. His voice sounded normal.

  “I think so…” H mumbled. He could still feel where the hands should be, but they still didn’t feel real. “I can’t feel your hands properly.”

  Jesse gave a sigh of relief. “That’s normal spirit stuff.” He removed his hands rose, offering a hand to Hanzo afterwards. At what point did they both end up on the ground? Was Hanzo’s…. attack?... that bad that he collapsed? Choosing to push that thought aside, he grabbed the offered hand and allowed himself to be lifted back onto his feet.

  “Now, how about showing me around?” McCree suggested. “I never got a chance to look around until now.”

  “Very well.” Hanzo turned to the closed door and walked towards it, stopping as he reached for the doorknob. Quickly, he made a grab for it, and as he expected, his hand went right through it. “So that’s how it goes…” He mused, looking at the door before him. Straightening his shoulders, he strolled straight through the door as if it wasn’t there.

  “You’re getting the hang of this now.” McCree complimented, stepping out a split second after.

  “When I’m not freaking out over eye colours, I’m quick to catch on.” Hanzo looked down both ways of the hallway before taking a right. “Let’s find the guards first, then as we follow them I’ll give you the grand tour.”

  “Genji’s itching to do something.” Jesse mentioned as they walked together. “Bored out of his mind watching our bodies sit there starin’ off into space.”

  Hanzo laughed. “Now he knows how I feel. Minus the bodies, of course.”

…..

  “And one full pad of paper later, and the two return!” Genji’s voice greeted them as the two regained consciousness. Hanzo blinked several times, feeling something over his eyes disappear. He raised a hand to rub at them.

  “How long were we out for?” He asked.

  “Couple of hours.” Genji informed. “Anything interesting happen?

  “Other than having some kind of ghostly panic attack, it was relatively peaceful. We saw the Elders.”

  “Were any of them demons?”

  “Not that I can tell.” McCree stated. “All appear to be human, but maybe they have some kind of cloaking device that allows them to hide their… demon essence?”

  “Is that even a thing, Jesse?” Hanzo asked.

  “The cloaking thing? Yeah definitely. Our boss has some on hand for occasions that might require it.” Jesse explained.

  “I remember using one to sneak in to an abandoned temple up in Nepal. It did not feel good.” Genji gave a full body shudder as he handed the pad to his brother.

  Hanzo couldn’t help the chuckle that came out when he saw the first line of handwriting at the top of the first page.

_ Don’t send Hanzo into a panic attack in the future!!!_

  “Solid advice.” Hanzo nodded, showing the page to Jesse. Jesse laughed at it.

  “Yeah… not sure why that happened, to be honest.” He scratched at his beard.

  “Let’s not worry about that.” Hanzo suggested. “We have other things to fret over. What is that saying? There are bigger fish to fry?”

  “Yep, that’d be correct.” Jesse nodded, a smile on his face. “Shall we get to work?”

  “Tomorrow.” Genji yawned as he stood. “It turns out that writing can really take it out on you. I don’t care if it’s only six, I’m going to bed.”

  “Are you sure it’s not from not sleeping for several days?” McCree joked. Genji glared at him. McCree laughed and rose to give Genji’s shoulder a firm pat. “See ya in the morning.”

  “Oyasumi, anatagata futari.” Genji mumbled as he headed towards the stairs leading up to the bedrooms.

……

  “What are you doing, Hanzo?” Jesse asked later that night when he went to check up on said man. “It’s getting pretty late.”

  “Training.” Hanzo replied curtly, holding his pose in the stretch he was caught midway in, ignoring the ache that wanted to make itself known. “I refuse to continue being bedridden. I’ll lose my edge if I do so.”

  “But don’t you wanna recover first, or are you like Genji and get impatient after a while?”

  Hanzo sighed. “I hate standing by and doing nothing. And no.” He interrupted before the other man could speak. “What we did today only helped a little. It relieved a little tension, but not enough to make me comfortable.”

  “Fair enough. Perhaps I have just the thing you need.” McCree disappeared into a puff of smoke and returned in seconds holding something in his hand. “Step out the room for a sec, darlin’.”

  Hanzo obliged, taking a look at whatever McCree had in his hand as he passed. For lack of a better description, it looked like a gigantic fridge magnet. One side had the familiar grey-black that you stuck to the fridge while the other was red with something written on it in a language Hanzo didn’t know.

  “What on earth is that?” Hanzo asked, as Jesse closed the door to Hanzo’s room and slapped the magnet-thing on it, firmly pressing it into place.

  “Well technically it’s not an earthly thing. Something your mortal brain won’t comprehend.” McCree ruffled Hanzo’s hair, loosening it from its ponytail.

  “I’m sure you’re just making it more complicated than necessary.” Hanzo untied the ribbon, letting his hair fall passed his shoulders and running his fingers through it to let any knots out. He really wanted to get it cut so it wasn’t so thick. “What kind of language is that?”

  “Again, something your mortal brain won’t comprehend.” McCree repeated as he placed his flesh had over it. “That’s not a joke; any mortal that tries to read it can’t understand it. Only demons can. Think of it as being blind to a certain colour, but with a language.” The wording underneath his hand pulsed a bright red before fading back to black. “All done.” McCree moved his hand away from the door and twisted the knob to open it. “Take a look!”

  Hanzo looked behind the demon and had to do a double take. His room had completely disappeared, and in its place was a much larger room, almost the size of the entire apartment. Hanzo stepped through the doorway and looked around. The room itself had a solid stone floor that Hanzo could feel through his socks were freezing cold. The walls were lined with polished dark wooden planks, with a matching ceiling where four balls of light gave off all the light that was in the room.

  On the wall the same side as the door was an assortment of weapons he recognised as those used by the Shimada clan, such as katanas, wakizashis, shurikens, bows with matching quivers, among just a chosen few, as well as many different types of guns from shotguns to machine pistols to basic handguns. There were so many weapons that they climbed the wall, yet no ladder or means to reach them was in sight.

  Away from the wall was several different training dummies of varying shapes, all with different training purposes, Hanzo guessed. Along the other three walls and floating above them were platforms of varying sizes that Hanzo guessed were for parkour training. All in all, it was the most impressive training room he’d ever seen.

  “Is this… some kind of pocket dimension?” Hanzo wondered out-loud.

  “Honestly… I don’t know the answer to that. It was a gift from my fa-ah! I mean, my boss! He knows more than I do.” McCree informed. “Genji took the liberty of renovating the place. It saved us a fortune on his gym subscription, I’ll tell ya that much.”

  “That’s not the Genji I knew; he’d take any chance to get out of training.”

  “Well, once a ninja always a ninja?”

  “Perhaps.” Hanzo walked towards the weapon wall. “How did he get these?”

  “Work. He asked around if anybody was willing to trade any spare weapons to his cause.” Jesse entered the room. “So essentially, you’re allowed to use any of these you wish, as well as the training room. However, you need one of us to open the entrance for you. And also you can’t spend too long in here. It’s too potent with demon magic. It’ll do damage to a mortal.”

  “Like what? Make me go insane?” Hanzo asked, a smirk on his face. Yet when he looked over at McCree, he just looked back with his voidless eyes.

  “How do you think insane people come about? Genetics? Nope, too much exposure to demon magic.” Jesse shook his head. “Just… be careful, please? I’d hate to see something like that happen to you. I’ve grown to like ya and everything.”

  “I’m starting to think I just shouldn’t be around demons at all.” Hanzo stated, walking over to where a rack of bows where kept and selecting one from the lot, weighing it in his hand to get a feel for it.

  “That’s also a good suggestion, but being around demons isn’t as bad as being exposed to our magic. If that was the case, many mortals would be losing their minds and I don’t reckon demons would remain a secret for much longer.”

  Hanzo nodded, holding the bow upright and pulling the bowstring back. He released the bowstring and placed the bow back to where it had originally been.

  “Not good enough?” McCree asked.

  “I’m very fussy with my weapons.” Hanzo informed.

  “Well, how about we work on that another time?” Jesse suggested. “It’s getting pretty late, and we need to start planning if you want to go on your murderous rampage.”

  “Very well.” Hanzo headed towards the exit, with McCree closely behind.

  “By the way, how long do you think planning this whole thing will take?”

  “As long as it must. Every possible outcome must be thought of and thoroughly thought through so that we can be prepared. This is not a simple mission to assassinate one or several people like in the past. We’re dealing with an entire organisation that must be brought down and destroyed. Ideally, it would only take a few weeks, but realistically it can take several months.”

  “Well, if that’s the case, I look forward to working with you, Hanzo.”

  “And I to you, Jesse. Goodnight.”


	8. Holiday Spirit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few months have past, and now it's time to deck the halls!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I planned to do a double update as a Christmas gift, but I got writer's block half-way through the second chapter. I'm planning to finish and release the next chapter tomorrow because I like what I've written so far and wanna share it ASAP!

  “You alright, sugar?” McCree asked, watching as Hanzo tried to recover from getting slapped in the face by the bone-chilling wind.

  “I will be.” Hanzo huffed, balancing the three cake boxes in one hand as he raised the other to rub at his stinging cheek. “I was never particularly fond of winter.”

  “Can’t blame ya. Always hated it when the temperature dropped too low for my liking, but that might be due to growing up in the south.”

  Hanzo nodded, glancing out at the street they were walking on as they made their way back to their apartment where Genji was supposed to be decorating the place with whatever knick-knacks he and McCree had collected over the years they’ve spent together.

  A light dusting of snow covered the pavement, with big piles of it pushed into the gutters to clear the roads, and if he chose to look further ahead, Hanzo could see the faint twinkling of Christmas lights that lined the windows of just about every shop he’d walked past during his occasional commute into the shopping area. He’d almost forgot what the strange city he now lived in looked like without the festive get-up, despite having lived with his two companions for two months by that point, but he blamed that on his choice to not leave the comfort of their apartment no more than once a week at best. It was a habit he’d gotten into back when he ruled the Shimada Clan and was out on “business trips”, a habit he knew he should break, but that needed a lot more working on.

  He glanced back to his friend, who had ditched the serape and hat in favour of a scarf with a similar pattern to the serape and a matching beanie with a red and yellow pom-pom on top. If Hanzo didn’t know any better, he’d think that the man beside him was really into Harry Potter and representing his house. But he knew the man and thus knew that the demon beside him just had an aesthetic he needed to live up to.

  But based on what Hanzo knew on Jesse, he’d make an excellent Gryffindor.

  “Ya need any help with those, darlin’?” Jesse asked.

  “Hmm… I should be fine.” Hanzo said, readjusting his hold on his prizes so they were more stable. “This cake had better be as good as you two claim it is.”

  “Oh, trust me, it’s mighty fine.” McCree smiled, his fangs slightly poking out. “Genji and I get them every year. Best cake you’ll ever taste.”

  “And do you normally get so many?” Hanzo looked down at the three boxes he carried.

  “Well, normally it’s two; one for me and one for your brother. But since you’re here, and you’ll see why we love this particular cake so much,” He raised his hand and lightly tapped the box on top of the stack. “I figured I’d do you a solid and get you one for yourself.”

  Hanzo nodded, appreciating the kind gesture. “What else do I need to be prepared for?”

  “Hmm… nothing else, really. We don’t celebrate it any differently than other humans do. Really the only difference is that we’ve done the unthinkable and combined our cultures so now it’s one big mess of a holiday- Hey there’s the salon I was telling ya about!”

  McCree hurried forward and stopped in front of a store, leaving Hanzo to speed up without losing his precious cargo. Hanzo looked through the window, and was greeted with the sight of a few men and women as they got their hair cut, dyed, or styled. Hanzo couldn’t help the internal sigh, but he managed to hold it back physically.

  “Don’t cha remember? This is the place I told you Genji gets his hair done! He claims it’s the second-best hair salon he’s ever been to!”

  “… I regret telling you about thinking of getting a new haircut.” Hanzo muttered, but he knew Jesse would easily hear him.

  “Aww, come on, sugar. I’m just trying to help.”

  “I know, and I appreciate it greatly. But I haven’t made the decision yet.” Hanzo admitted. It’s not something to be embarrassed about, but it felt like a giant weight had been on his mind ever since he first thought of cutting his hair again. He’d done it once after Genji’s “death” in order to keep up the act, and that had taken a lot out of him.

  “I won’t push you, partner.” McCree reassured him, placing his gloved metal hand on Hanzo’s shoulder. “Just thought you’d be interested.”

  “Thank you…” Hanzo drawled off, his mind elsewhere.

  “Umm… Hanzo?” Jesse poked his cheek.

  Hanzo snapped back into reality and gently shoved the cake boxes at McCree. “Hold these.”

  McCree took them obediently. “What are you…”

  “Don’t wait for me.” Hanzo said as he walked through the door to the salon.

  McCree waited.

…….

  “Honey, we’re home!” McCree announced as he opened the door, taking off his coat and hanging it on the coat rack before walking forward to make room for Hanzo.

  “How was work, sweetie?” Genji joked. The two entered the room to find several boxes around the lounge room floor. One full of tree decorations sat by a fake Christmas tree that was set up in a corner of the lounge room. Genji sat on the floor, surrounded by the rest with two empty pots within grabbing distance, and wearing a Santa hat he must’ve found during his time alone, hiding his green-and-black hair and the red surprisingly complimenting the markings on his face. He was too focused on the box in front of him to notice the others.

  “We got the cakes, like you asked, as well as other things as well.” Hanzo informed him.

  “Great! Now we can actually get to decorating so I won’t have to work so hard–WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO ANIJA!?!”

  Genji had finally looked away from his work and at his mortal brother and saw that somebody had taken a razor to the wings on the sides of his head and completely chopped them off, as well as the rest of his hair around that area, leaving a black buzzcut in its wake and a few inches of full-length hair on the top.

  “I… got a haircut?” Hanzo asked, feeling self-conscious about his choice now. Jesse had assured him that he had like it when Hanzo first walked out of the salon with the fresh cut, telling him that the style suited him. But Genji’s reaction was not what Hanzo was prepared for.

  Genji turned to McCree. “AND YOU DIDN’T BOTHER TELLING ME THIS WHY!?!” He stood and walked over to the two.

  “Because I wanted it to be a surprise?” McCree tried.

  “Are you… unhappy with how it looks?” Hanzo asked, breaking eye contact as he brought a hand up to run his fingers against the fuzz. He could feel defeat crawl into his chest at the thought of his baby brother hating the new style. He was really proud of himself for doing something he considered “outrageous”, but now he’d never hated himself more than today.

  “UNHAPPY!?! BROTHER, I’M-“ Genji cut himself off. “Do you think I hate it?” His voice had calmed down.

  “It… might’ve entered my mind.” Hanzo admitted.

  “Anija, you look amazing!” Genji reassured, and immediately Hanzo felt relief flood his system. “I honestly wasn’t expecting you to return home with a new hairstyle, but I love it! You’re definitely the most stylish human living in this apartment!”

  “Thank you, brother. I was scared-HEY!” Hanzo glowered at his idiot of a sibling. Genji laughed. “I am not above murdering you for real…”

  “Nah, I won't take to it.” Genji jabbed.

  “Well if it makes you feel any better, I think you’re the most stylish human I’ve ever seen in my decades of existence.” Jesse offered.

  Hanzo smiled. “Thank you, Jesse. At least one of you two are honest.”

  “Jesse, I’m wounded!” Genji gasped, clutching at where his heart laid still and silent, a thing Hanzo had learned. “I thought I was!”

  “Sorry, Genji, my interests have changed.” McCree smirked, wrapping an arm around Hanzo. Hanzo played along and leaned his head against McCree’s broad shoulder.

  “Finally, a real man that will treat me right.” Hanzo added.

  “Eww! Why don’t you two go find a mistletoe to kiss under?” Genji asked.

  McCree laughed. “Maybe later.” He moved his arm away from Hanzo. “But first, wasn’t there something you wanted to do with your brother?”

  “Oh yeah!” Genji grabbed Hanzo by the elbow and dragged him over to the big collection of boxes. He gestured wildly at the two pots, which Hanzo could clearly see were green and blue. “It’s a yearly tradition to make kadomatsus and put them by the doorway, and I want you to help me this year instead of Mr American over there.”

  “Hey! I make a mighty fine kadomatsu!” McCree defended as he took the cake boxes from Hanzo and headed over to the kitchen.

  “I haven’t made a kadomatsu in decades, literally.” Hanzo remembered making them with Genji back when they were younger, but once his training began to crank up, he didn’t have time for things that were deemed “childish”.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll help!” Genji offered. “And Jesse can give pointers if he wants to.”

  “I might, if I feel like it.” McCree confirmed-ish.

  “Ever the helpful soul, my friend.” Genji muttered. “Anyway, let’s get started!”

…..

  Two hours and several tinsel fights later, the apartment was looking a lot more holiday-friendly. The tree was glammed out with baubles and tinsel of many colours, and topped with a golden star that looked like it was new from the store, but the two demons reassured it’s been with them for ages.

  The dining room table had been cleared of their plans and ideas for infiltrating the Shimada estate and put away to be used later in favour of a red-and-white tablecloth with little reindeer prancing around the edges and a red strip running along the middle of the cloth length-ways.

  Even the cushions on the couch had been replaced with festive copies that read ridiculous things such as “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” and “Joy To The World”, as well as a lovely-looking red-and-green checkered blanket was thrown along the back.

  All in all, the two rooms looked like something out of a home-decorating magazine running a Christmas Special, and not like a home that a human and two demons were residing in.

  Said human was currently weaving extra tinsel along the banister of the stairs, whilst one of the demons was in the kitchen, cutting up some cake to share with his roommates to relax after all the hardwork they’ve completed, as well as to celebrate his brother’s incredible new hairstyle. The other demon was leaning on the banisters by the human as they all engaged in conversation.

  “I don’t think I can believe such a thing, darlin’.” McCree stated to the older Shimada.

  “Doubt me all you want, but I swear to the dragons, it happened.” Hanzo told him calmly.

  “When your job required you to head out to obscure places in order to complete assignments like that, it’s not that hard to believe.” Genji added.

  “Thank you, brother.”

  “But still. You? Needing to-FUCK! AHHH!” Genji’s screams immediately snapped Hanzo and McCree’s head in the direction of the kitchen.

  “What was that?” Hanzo asked quickly, now on high alert.

  “I’m fine! Just a small accident!”

  Hanzo wasn’t convinced, and all but ran down the small flight of stairs to see his brother crouching on the ground in the kitchen, clutching at something that had impaled his foot.

  “Genji? What happened?” McCree asked, appearing beside Hanzo, despite Hanzo never hearing him come down the stairs behind him.

  “Oh! It’s nothing!” Genji shuffled to try and hide his accident, but all it did was reveal what had happened.

  “You bare-footed idiot!” Hanzo panicked, hurrying over to the cupboard where the medical stuff was kept to see if a first-aid kit resided in there.

  “I’ll be fine, brother. Demonic healing abilities, remember?” Genji tried to reason. Yet Hanzo returned with a small tool-box with a big red cross crudely drawn on as a reminder of what its purpose was.

  “You have more or less just stabbed yourself in the foot with a fucking chef’s knife!” Hanzo informed his brother as he crouched down beside him. By the time he did, Genji had already tugged the knife out and was covering the wound that was still leaking with his hands. “Now move your hands so I can help.” He demanded calmly.

  Genji sighed and complied, knowing that Hanzo would check on him regardless of the magic that flowed through his veins. Maybe if he wasn’t so mortal and human he’d understand.

  Hanzo opened the kit and did a quick scan of the inventory, quick to pull out a bottle of disinfectant when he spotted it.

  “You won’t need that.” McCree offered, taking a few steps closer so he was directly behind Hanzo.

  Hanzo sighed, lowering the bottle back into the box. “I know. I just…”

  “I know, sugar.” McCree crouched down to his level and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You wanted to help, and your first reaction was to treat it like a human would. And Genji’s very thankful for that, aren’t ya?”

  “Oh yeah, definitely!” Genji nodded furiously. “I mean, if it makes you feel any better, you can put a band aid on it?”

  Hanzo gave a small smile, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “Sure. Are they in the box?”

  And that was how Genji ended up with two bright blue band aids stuck to the top and sole of his right foot. Yet Hanzo noticed something whilst “tending” to his brother’s “needs”.

  “How are you not crying, Genji?” He asked. “Do demons not feel pain anymore either?”

  “No, we still have a responding nervous system. I just can’t cry.” Genji replied.

  “What?” Hanzo furrowed his eyebrows. “That doesn’t make sense.”

  “Demons can’t cry.” Genji looked away from his foot and at his brother. “I’m not sure why, but we just can’t. Something about a part of us being sealed away and having to find something to unlock it? Jesse didn’t do a good job on explaining that part.”

  “Can’t explain what you don’t know.” McCree replied, though he wasn’t looking at the two on the floor. Instead he opted to look out the window like it held the answer to that question. After a few seconds he looked back over. “Anyway, I’m in the mood for cake. Hanzo, do you wanna maybe handle the knife this time?”


	9. A Very Important Investigation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Many things are discovered after the Christmas holidays, both good and bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that it took so long to update. I just didn't feel the same motivation I usually feel for a while. Maybe it's some kind of New Year's Blues or something. Hopefully that won't happen again. Those were dark times.  
> But anyway, hope you all enjoy this chapter. I had fun writing it. :D

  “Again!” Hanzo demanded as he pushed against the wall he had landed against and used the momentum to get back onto his feet.

  “Hanzo, I’ve kicked ya down more times than I can count.” McCree pointed out, moving his hand to adjust a hat that was normally there. Once he realised it wasn’t, he lowered it quickly in the hopes Hanzo didn’t catch the movement, choosing to instead wipe both hands against the grey slacks he wore for training. “Don’t you want a break?”

  “We took a break after you kicked me down the first three time.” Hanzo pointed out, yet he moved over to the entrance of the training room, opening it to grab a water bottle hiding on the other side. “I take it you’re not much of a fighter, then?

  McCree chuckled nervously. “I mean I am. It’s a requirement of the group Genji and I are a part of. It’s just not my preferred method of confrontation. Also I can’t help but feel like you’re pushing yourself a little too hard, partner.”

  Hanzo rolled his eyes at the last remark. Even though he was fully recovered, the poor man still fretted over the other’s well-being. He found the gesture rather sweet, even if it made him feel something like a lesser-being. Then again, he’s standing in front of an immortal being that is friends with another immortal being that Hanzo knew for a fact could kill an entire room of well-trained bodyguards without leaving the comfort of his room, so perhaps there was a call for concern. But Jesse was just taking it to the next level.

  “I need to. I’m still out of practice, and as you like to point out, I’m the weakest one in comparison to you and my brother.” Hanzo paused to take a mouthful of water.

  “Now I didn’t say you were weak! I meant that… ah fuck!” Jesse struggled to defend himself. Hanzo gave a triumphant smile as he placed the water bottle back outside the room before closing the door and walking back over to where the flustered man stood, undoing his hair so he could force any stray hairs back into the messy bun on the back of his head. His fingers brushed against the fuzz that was several days old at that point, something that still took Hanzo by surprise every now and then.

  “You can correct your insult by fighting me again.” Hanzo patted the man on the back and moved so he was standing in front of McCree.

  “Now hold on a minute! You’re just trying to guilt me into attacking you again!” McCree pointed an accusing finger at Hanzo.

  Hanzo cocked his head to the side. “Is it working?”

  McCree’s nose wrinkled.

  “I will take that as a yes. Go!” Hanzo launched himself at McCree, hoping the distraction was enough to give him the upper hand.

  Surprisingly it worked. Jesse let out a startled yelp as he and Hanzo went crashing into the stone floor, the demon groaning in pain as the human moved off his torso to flip him onto his stomach, grabbing his shoulders and forcing him against his chest, wrapping his right arm around his neck to hold him in a choke-hold.

  “… I call foul play?” Jesse asked. Hanzo felt a triumphant smirk spread on his face.

  “When up against a trained-assassin, don’t play fair; play to win.” Hanzo offered.

  From in front of them, the door opened, and a familiar face poked through.

  “Eww! Why don’t you two get a room?”

  “Umm, we’re already in one.” Hanzo offered, unwrapping his arms and pushing his opponent away from him. Jesse stood up so fast, all Hanzo saw was a blur of motion. “You’re the one that came in without knocking.”

  “Fair enough, but may I ask why a water bottle is in the hallway?” Genji asked, looking down at where the offending object stood out of sight.

  Hanzo looked pointedly up at McCree, not caring that said man's attention was directed at his brother. “No food or water in the demonic training room, I have been told.”

  “Hey! I’m just looking out for your well-being, partner!” McCree quipped.

  “Aww! Are you embarrassed that a mere mortal managed to take you down, Jesse?” Genji snickered. Hanzo leaned forward to properly look at McCree’s face, and sure enough, his face was a lovely shade of red.

  “No!” McCree defended, having found the ceiling a more interesting sight than either of the Shimadas. “Just wasn’t expecting you to come in.”

  Hanzo chuckled, before looking back at his brother. “What is it that you need, Genji?”

  “We need to start Spirit-Travelling again. We took a long enough break, so we need to get back to work.” Genji stated.

  Hanzo nodded. “Who’s turn is it?”

  “Mine!” Genji declared cheerfully. “Let’s go!” He left the other two before they could ask him to stop.

  “Well, we better not keep him waiting.” Hanzo rose from his spot and started towards to door, until he realised that McCree wasn’t following behind. He turned around to see the man still standing in the same position he had last seen him in; inky eyes focused on the ceiling. “Jesse?”

  The demon sighed. “Sorry, darlin’. Just needed a moment.”

  Hanzo turned so he was facing McCree fully. “I didn’t take you as a man who was easily embarrassed.”

  “… Not normally.” Jesse admitted. “But under the right circumstances, say your ex walking in on you and his brother in what could’ve been a suggestive position…”

  Hanzo chuckled again. “I suppose it might have looked strange. I apologise on Genji’s behalf, and myself for laughing at your discomfort.”

  McCree managed a chuckle of his own. “Yeah, well what happened happens. Nothing to-“ He was interrupted by the sudden buzzing coming from the seats by the door. Hanzo walked over and grabbed his phone, quick to turn the alarm off.

  “I swear Genji has some kind of sixth sense when it comes to timing.” Hanzo pointed out.

  “You mean a seventh sense? ‘Cause we already got the sixth one. Now come on. Genji ain’t gonna wait forever!” McCree quickly strolled over to Hanzo, grabbing his hand and pulling him out the door towards where Genji was be waiting in the lounge room.

  Hanzo hoped that this supposed sixth sense wasn’t associated with blood pressure, since he could feel his face turn a similar colour to McCree’s from earlier.

…..

  “The guard roster hasn’t changed from 3:00 to 4:30, and no rooms have been rearranged.” Hanzo informed his brother when they met up towards the end of the Spirit-Travel. “I did notice they have a few new faces among the guards, so I feel we should soon decide how we should go about on those that haven’t been involved in the clan for long.”

Genji nodded. “We’ll decide later. I’ve checked all possible entrances. All still fully functional.” The two boys began heading towards the meeting room where the elders were soon to, well, meet.

  “Excellent.” Hanzo nodded, a faint smile appearing. He always enjoyed when things fell into place. Sure, it might not be much of a challenge, which he also appreciated, but this was one particular event where he hoped no unexpected surprises occurred. The elders weren’t worthy of his careful planning.

  Once they were out of his hair, he could finally live his life stress-free. Well mostly. He was certain Genji would get into some kind of trouble. McCree as well, if he was to take into account this mysterious organisation both of them work for.

  “Genji, I’ve been meaning to ask this, but… what exactly is this organisation you and Jesse work for? I don’t even know the name of it.”

  “Oh crap!” Genji facepalmed, “I’ve completely forgotten to tell you!”

  “Not just you; Jesse has as well, so you’re both at fault.” Hanzo pointed out.

  “Okay good. I can handle a double-blame.” Genji moved his hand from his face and ran it through his nearly-black hair. “We work for Overwatch.”

  “Overwatch? The global defence organisation?” Hanzo frowned. He had… not so fond memories of said company. They had tried multiple times to take down the Shimada Clan, and even though he would’ve been better off just allowing them to do so, their attempts had been when Hanzo was trying to redeem the clan, so naturally he had defended it. He had almost died at least six times due to those mistakes.

  “Yeah, the same one.” Genji grinned sheepishly.

  Hanzo squinted at his brother. “You were involved, weren’t you?”

  “I didn’t have a choice!” Genji cried dramatically, throwing his body against Hanzo, causing the two to stop in the middle of the hallway. “They made me!”

  “By offering you a job, I assume, and thus a form of income.”

  “You’re too smart for your own good, brother!” Genji stood up straight and began walking again, dragging his brother by the sleeve. “And also I saw it as a way to bring us together again sooner. Unfortunately, the leader of the Shimada Clan is known to be too brutal for anybody to handle, even of the supernatural kind.”

  Despite his history with Overwatch, Hanzo couldn’t help but feel a bubble of happiness at Genji’s reason to join. If only he had known his Otōto had been involved, he’d have happily let the Clan crumble. Hell, he’d have handed over the keys in person. Hanzo couldn’t help at chuckling at how funny life worked at times.

  “So they hire… people like you in Overwatch.” Hanzo stated as they entered the meeting room. He didn’t fraise it as a question because, well, the answer was obvious.

  “Yep.” Genji released his brother’s sleeve and walked to the other end of the table. “But I wasn’t one when they hired me. Jesse just told them I used to be a member of the Shimada Clan and they offered a proposition; join and get paid and maybe see your brother again, or don’t and remain broke for however long I would’ve been.”

  “So it’s because of Jesse you have a job, then.” Hanzo started inspecting the paperwork on the desk.

  “Yeah. Isn’t he just amazing?” The sound of books being shuffled around reached Hanzo’s ear.

  “Hmm… I suppose… despite his attire.” Hanzo smirked at the thought of said man listening in on their conversation and having a heart attack. Could demons even have a heart attack?

  “You know he likes you, right?”

  Hanzo swore on his family’s dragons he heard Jesse scream.

  “I don’t think it was in your place to tell me.” Hanzo could feel his cheeks redden.

  “I know. But it’s really hard to when he’s sneaking glances at you when he knows you’re not looking during TV Time!” He heard the sound of Genji raising his arms in the air and dropping them back to his side. “It’s too painful!”

  “I thought I felt eyes on me…” Hanzo muttered.

  “That’s what you’re hooked on? Not the fact that McCree, my ex, is head over heels for you, but that you’ve been feeling eyes on you!?!”

  Hanzo rolled his eyes. “I am not ignoring the fact. I just think it was rude to tell me instead of letting him do it on his own.”

  “Again, I know. But he probably feels some kind of awkwardness considering he used to date me, you know? So he'd be reluctant to let you know."

  “McCree? Awkward? Those are two words I never thought I would hear in the same sentence.”

  “Shocking I know, but…” Genji’s voice trailed off.

  “What is it, Genji?”

  “These papers weren’t here before…” Genji noted, gesturing for his brother to come over quickly. Hanzo looked down and hummed in agreement. The small stack of documents hadn’t been there when they had last Spirit-Travelled just a few days ago. Hanzo made a move to grab the top one to look at, but his hand went right through.

  “Stupid non-physical body.” He mumbled as his brother grabbed the paper with ease.

  “Keep practising, young Padawan, and someday you’ll master the force.” Genji joked before glancing at the paper in his hand. In just a few seconds his face fell.

  “What is it?” Hanzo moved to look over his brother’s shoulder to get a better look at what was written.

_Dear Associates of the Shimada Clan,_

_As many of you have noticed and inquired, Master Hanzo Shimada has not chosen a royal consort to wed since his rise to power, despite only being a few years away from 40. This has many worrying implications to our clan, all of them about the future of it. We believe that the cause of this may be that he has become withdrawn from many social events since the tragic death of Master Genji Shimada ten years ago._

_However, we wish to correct this. If you have received this letter, then we are interested in one of your heirs possibly becoming the consort to Master Hanzo. This will come with many benefits, both to our clan and to yours. We plan to hold a special get-together with the clans interested, where we will allow Master Hanzo to choose for himself which clan member is worthy of his surname. This is the same process that many of the other Shimada leaders have partaken in to choose a consort._

_If you are interested in looking into this arrangement, feel free to contact the clan ASAP. We will send a proper invite out later once everything else has been arranged._

_Kind Regards,  
  Neikan Ito, Head Elder of the Shimada Clan_

  “I can’t fucking believe this!” Hanzo roared, attempting to smash his fists against the desk, only to end up falling through it. Instead of getting back up, he chose to curl up into the fetal position and scream. “Even after leaving, they choose to continue ruining my life!”

  “Fucking dishonourable.” Genji agreed, his voice emanating a deep throaty growl. “Fuck waiting, I’m going to slaughter every fucking one of them myself.”

  Genji moved towards the exit, but directly on the other side, a bloodcurdling scream sounded. Hanzo peaked an eye out just in time to see Genji rush out the door. Hanzo moved to stand back up, only for Genji to stumble back in, clutching his throat and coughing up a lung.

  “Genji!” Hanzo cried, rushing to his little brother’s side. “What happened?!?”

  “Neikan…“ Genji coughed twice. “Kazuya… shot dead.“ Another coughing fit.

  Hanzo shook his head in desperation. “We need to leave, now!”

  A few seconds later, the were back on the floor of their lounge room, with Genji struggling to breathe. Hanzo was by his side in an instant while Jesse ran off somewhere.

  “Genji, hold on.” Hanzo muttered quietly, gripping Genji’s hand in his, unsure on how to help. How did a demon get hurt while Spirit-Travelling? He had always thought that mortals were the only ones vulnerable to, well, anything involving demon-stuff.

  “Fuckin’ witch guns.” McCree growled as he re-entered the room, holding some kind of red liquid in a glass. “Sit him up, please.” Hanzo did as he was asked, pushing Genji into a sitting position. McCree squatted and placed the glass to his lips. “Drink up, darlin’. Gotta get rid of the poison.”

  Genji began to greedily and loudly gulp down the content of the glass, taking it out of the other demon’s hand in the process. Soon enough he was done, taking a deep breath in through his nose and out through his mouth. Hanzo noticed a strange green mist leave as he did so. Was that the poison McCree mentioned?

  “… Thank god…” Genji sighed. “That was horrible…” His head snapped over to McCree, fear evident in his milky eyes. “Kazuya’s dead, and he was a demon!” Genji stated quickly.

  “Kazuya?” Hanzo gasped. His worse fear had been confirmed.

  “Yes!” Genji exclaimed. “I went to investigate the scream, and he was writhing on the ground, smoke and ash leaving his body! Neikan was standing over him with a gun in his hand! He shot him at point-blank range!”

  “So the clan seems to be falling apart even without our divine intervention.” McCree mused.

  “I only got a small look, since I felt the impact of the gun a second or two later.” Genji had finally calmed down.

  “You mentioned witch guns earlier, McCree.” Hanzo timidly spoke, unsure if he could at that given moment.

  “Yeah, witch guns are spiritual guns that have an affect on being like us.” Jesse gestured between him and Genji. “Not a pleasant way to die.”

 “I never want to see or feel that ever again.” Genji shook his head as if that would help erase his memories. “But Hanzo’s speculation was correct; there was at least one demon in the group.”

  “Unfortunately.” McCree answered. “If I had to guess, after Genji’s little stunt a few months ago, it scared them enough to get one, or at least this Neikan fellow.

  “But if he has it,” Hanzo speculated, “then it might mean that he isn’t. But if any more of them actually are remains to be seen. He was always the more superstitious of the group.”


	10. Do You Remember?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys need help, and Genji knows just who to ask. But first, they have to get there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, there is a bit of Hindi in this chapter, but I'm not sure how correct it is since I only used Google Translate on it. If anybody knows if it's right or not, feel free to let me know.
> 
> Also in hindsight, I don't know if this is an appropriate chapter name or description.

  The very next day, Genji came charging into Hanzo’s room, not caring if his brother was still sleeping after the previous day’s excitement.

  “Up up, Anija! We’ve got places to be!” Genji stated.

  Hanzo threw a pillow at him in response, which Genji ducked under with ridiculous ease.

  “Come on, it’s important! We’re going to meet my employer to see if he can help up out.”

  “Do we need to meet him at…” Hanzo turned on his phone and checked the time. “6:30 in the morning?” If there was one thing that Hanzo had come to enjoy since leaving the clan, it was the freedom to sleep for however long he wanted. Some days he got up early-ish to do some early morning training, but other days he just allowed himself the luxury of sleep. 6:30 was too early for him.

  “Yes. he’s a very busy man. The earlier we get to him, the more likely we have a chance to speak with him.”

  “So there’s a chance that we may not even get to talk?”

  “Not if you keep staying in bed! Now get up! Don’t make me get the bucket, young man!”

  “I’m older than you!”

…

  “Where did Genji go?” Hanzo asked after he emerged from his bedroom and into the lounge room where McCree was sitting, looking through a notebook that Hanzo immediately identified as the one McCree wrote about the many types of demons and beings he had encountered. No sign of his brother however.

  “He went out to call the boss. Also to get the motorbike ready so you two can leave soon.” McCree replied, not looking away from his book.

  “You two have a motorbike? And you’re not coming?”

  “The bike’s Genji’s. And there’s only enough room for two people, so I volunteered to stay behind.”

  Hanzo chose not to ask about just teleporting ahead of them to their location. Perhaps there was some other reason to him not going. “Alright then. I’ll have to face this commander with just my brother.”

  “Yep. Good luck with that.” McCree focused back on his book. While Hanzo waited for some kind of incentive to head out to wherever Genji was waiting, he absentmindedly began to trace the palm of his right hand, a habit he had formed ten years ago. It was then that Hanzo silently gasped.

  “You alright, darlin’?” McCree asked, looking away from the book and at Hanzo in concern.

  Hanzo remained where he stood, continuing to trace the palm of his right hand with the thumb from the left. “Do you remember what happened ten years ago?”

  “Umm… yeah?” McCree wasn’t sure on where their conversation was going. “We made a deal and I took your brother away from the Elders so he wouldn’t die. What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”

  “Do you remember this?” And Hanzo showed his right hand to McCree, where a familiar scar lined his palm. It had faded over the years, but it was still as prominent of a reminder as any.

  McCree nodded. “I do.”

  “What I’m wondering is… when am I going to repay the debt I owe you?” Hanzo made eye-contact with Jesse. “It’s been a long time since we made that deal.” He sighed. “For the first few months, all I could think about was when you’d show up to collect your pay. But after a year had passed, it became less of a prominent thought and more of something that I would remember whenever I look at this.” He tapped the scar.

  McCree raised his hand to his face, thinking over what he had just been confronted with.

  “Hmm… This is a peculiar situation we’re in…” McCree stated.

  “… How?”

  “Y’see… I didn’t forget about our deal. A demon never forgets a deal, nor does the person they make a deal with. It’s much like what you just told me; forefront of the mind for a good long while, but overtime it fades away, but it’s always there. And I honestly tried to think of something of equal value that I can… demand from you, but I always draw up blanks on ideas.” McCree laughed. “I remember one time I considered the price to be Genji’s hand in marriage, but that was back when we were actually a thing and not roommates with a very intimate history.”

  “How pleasant.” Hanzo mumbled, wondering whether he needed or wanted to know that little piece of information.

  “And if we’re getting technical, you asking me for help with this family business is also a deal, albeit an unofficial one, so if I wanted to be a real ass, I could add this onto your pre-existing debt and increase the price on what you owe me.”

  “You wouldn’t…” Hanzo threatened. It was bad enough not knowing what he currently owed the demon before him, but the thought of it increasing put him on edge, despite the fact he was on good terms with the man.

  “Nah, you’re right.” McCree smiled. Hanzo felt relieved. “I’m not that much of an ass.”

  “I’m sure Genji would testify.” Hanzo stated.

  “True.” McCree nodded, his head slowing as a thought came to mind. “ However… I did take his soul and turn him into a demon… And thus I took away something of great value to you…”

  Hanzo was silent for a moment before taking a seat on the couch next to McCree. “But you took him away from me before, and that was part of the deal. Also, he agreed to become a demon, at least I assume so. It would make sense if you turned him against his will, then it would have been a suitable price.”

  Jesse chuckled. “Guess I’m not the best when it comes to these deals, am I?”

  Hanzo shook his head. “You are good at giving, just not at taking, or demanding. Others can and will abuse it if you are not careful.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind for later.”

  “You should.”

  “How about this,” McCree offered, sitting up properly and giving Hanzo his full attention, placing the book on the armrest. “Before we go and kill all that stand in the way of you and eternal happiness, we have a proper conversation as to how we should settle this. We can go to someplace nice to go through all possibilities, preferably with food. How does that sound?”

  Hanzo nodded, glad that Jesse wanted to do this in a reasonable manner. “If it’ll help me get on with my life without the extra baggage.” He glanced at the clock and upon realising that five minutes have passed, rose from his seat.

  “Great! I’ll tell ya when I’ve figured everything out. Now you better hurry up, Genji’ll be waiting for you.” McCree stood and walked with Hanzo to the front door. “I’ll see you when you two get back. Tell Reyes I said hi!”

  “Farewell?” The door closed in his confused face as he pondered over Jesse’s strange behaviour. Only after he had started moving towards the elevator did it hit him. “Did you just fucking ask me out on a date!?!” Hanzo cried. He could hear the sound of laughter from the other side of the door. He just huffed and began walking again, yet he couldn’t rid himself of the small smile that had appeared.

…

  When Hanzo met up with Genji outside of the building, needless to say he was impressed by the sleek black and green sports motorbike his brother had somehow come to own.

  “How did you come into possession of such a thing?” Hanzo asked in wonder. He moved closer to it, marvelling at the sleek design. He chuckled at the sight of a Rikimaru sticker stuck near the leg rest.

  “I’ve always wanted one, remember? Well, that and I got it from Overwatch as transport back when I was human, since Jesse always teleported everywhere beforehand.” Genji answered, handing his brother a black helmet with a sticker of a green dragon circling around a katana stuck on the back.

  “Overwatch just gives motorbikes to its employees? Clearly I have been in the wrong occupation.” Hanzo placed the helmet on his head and pushed the visor down over his face.

  “Only to those that they favour.” Genji’s smile was quickly hidden behind the visor as he pushed it down before hopping onto the motorbike. “Hop on.” He spoke in Hanzo’s mind, causing him to blink in surprise at the sudden switch.

  “You would think that I would be used to that.” Hanzo thought as he carefully lifted his leg over the vehicle and made himself comfortable, wrapping his arms around his brother’s torso so he didn’t fall off.

  “You should! It’s been several months!” Genji exclaimed as he revved the engine and peeled away from the footpath and began navigating through the city.

  “How long is this going to take?”

  “To get there? Twenty minutes-ish. How long the meeting will be? Don’t know, depends on when we catch the Commander.” Genji answered. “You eager to meet him?”

  Hanzo inhaled sharply through his teeth. “I don’t know how I should be feeling. What is the man like?”

  “He was kind of cold and serious at first, but that’s just a front to test… something. I don’t quite understand his reasoning behind it. But just know that if he acts that way, it’s because of that.”

  Hanzo nodded. “And how does he act when he’s not testing others?”

  “He’s a pretty chill dude. He can get along with just about everybody. I don’t think there’s a person on Earth that he hasn’t been friendly with. Well, a person he hasn’t scared off in the first place.”

  Hanzo nodded again, but this time he felt some kind of nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach. He frowned, trying to figure out what that feeling meant. It bothered him for the rest of the ride, but he couldn’t figure out what it meant.

…

  The two pulled up in a parking lot surrounded by pine trees, much to Hanzo’s surprise.

  “Okay, I’m confused.” He confessed, looking upwards at the tall points of the pine trees, their scent overwhelming him for a few seconds once the helmet was off. Was this a hiking trail?

  “This is the closest spot to the portal well.” Genji explained vocally once his helmet was off. “It’s situated a little away, so we’ll have to walk there.” He gestured vaguely in a north-west direction. “Bring the helmet; don’t make the same mistake I did when I first got the bike.”

  “Which was?” Hanzo probed as the two began moving towards the direction Genji pointed in. He could faintly see a well-trodden path up ahead of them; a sign that this area was frequented enough to leave a trail.

  “Leave them at the bike and have them stolen by some jerk.” Genji mumbled unhappily, likely still annoyed that it had happened despite it sounding like something that had occurred years ago. “I had to buy new ones, and I wasn’t allowed to ride the bike until I did.”

  “You must take responsibility for your actions.” Hanzo shrugged.

  “I did! The least anybody could’ve done was steal them back and then bribed me into paying for them!” Genji huffed. “Anywhere, we’re here now.”

  Hanzo looked away from his brother and around the area to see that Genji had led them off trial and they were somewhere among the trees. He looked ahead and was met with what looked like a giant metal flower, its ‘petals’ closed like a bud. It came up to his waist if he had to guess.

  He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head slowly. “I will never understand what your kind are capable of.”

  “What? This is the portal well I mentioned earlier!” Genji defended. “And this isn’t demon magic; it’s draconic magic.”

  That caught Hanzo’s interest. “Draconic magic?” He asked, his eyes opened and looking at his brother in curiosity.

  “Of course you would take interest in that.” Genji rolled his whited-out eyes. “One of the members of Overwatch is a worshipper of a great dragon, and as such uses the magic it provides to make devices such as this.” He gestured to the metal flower. “We’ll use it to travel to the headquarters.”

  Genji walked forward and crouched down beside the portal well, placing a hand on one of the ‘petals’. He closed his eyes in concentration, and Hanzo could feel a faintly familiar energy roll off him in gentle waves, and Hanzo quickly concluded that Genji was powering the well with his own draconic magic from their family’s bloodline. But it felt different, a result of his new demon magic? Hanzo would have to ask him about it later.

  “Portal achchhee tarah se onalain.” He heard Genji speak, and quick as a whip, he was back by Hanzo’s side and the portal well was opening, the ‘petals’ folding away from the centre and resting on the ground as a blue light emitted from the centre, forming a blue oval big enough for a person to jump through comfortably. He couldn’t see anything but trees on the other side.

  “This… won’t feel like when I was teleported away from Hanamura, right?” Hanzo asked, reminded of how painful it was and the massive toll it took on his body and mind.

  “No, this one’s more gentle. Also it was your first time, and you were seriously hurt before the teleporting.” Genji placed a reassuring hand on his older brother’s shoulder. “You will be fine, Anija.”

  Hanzo took a deep breath to calm his nerves, which he found weren’t as bad as he thought they would have been.

  “I’ll go first. Once I’m through, wait five seconds and then enter. She has a certain order to using her portal wells.” Genji explained, taking a few steps forward.

  “Very well.” Hanzo nodded. His brother nodded back at him before taking the final step into the portal, disappearing in a series of blue magic. Hanzo mentally counted to five in his head before taking confident steps towards the portal well before feeling a sudden coolness spread across his skin as he was whisked to wherever the other side was kept.


	11. The Commander

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanzo and Genji arrive at the Overwatch building, ready to meet McCree and Genji's boss.

  “So this is your brother?” A feminine accented voice reached Hanzo’s ears before the cool feeling left his body. “He is quite an impressive specimen.”

  “Sorry, Satya. He’s got prior arrangements.” He heard Genji state proudly.

  When Hanzo’s mind became unfogged, he looked ahead of himself and was startled at what he saw before him.

  There was Genji, in all his demonic glory. Dark blue skin with red markings around his eyes, horns protruding from his forehead, and inky black hair spiked up naturally. Hanzo was used to that; spending two months seeing him like that almost 24/7 had that effect on him.

  But the lady… or whatever that was beside him… it was something straight out of a horror movie. Fiery red and dark purple scales covered her body, with the exception of her left arm and knee-high boots, which were made of purple and gold metal. Horns more impressive than those of his brother’s sat proudly on her head like a regal crown, while amused glowing yellow eyes stared into his very soul. A pair of wings circled around her waist, the curved claws acting like a clasp to keep them in place. What he first thought was a strange style of hair turned out to be some sort of tail-like appendage where her hair should’ve been.

  Hanzo had no doubt that the woman in front of him was the one that worshipped this great dragon Genji briefly mentioned before. And he was terrified on what she could do.

  She chuckled, presumably at his expression. “Do not be worried, Shimada.” She reassured. “I am aware that you are new to all of this. But rest assured, I have no intention to harm you. Genji has spoken greatly of you, and I see no reason to try and test those statements.”

  “… Thank you.” Hanzo quickly snapped out of his shock and bowed at the Dragon-Lady. “And please, I much rather be called Hanzo.”

  “Very well. You may call me Satya.” She nodded her head in acknowledgement as he rose back up. “If you need any help with security, I am the one you come to. I have a feeling we will get along just fine.” She smiled gently at him. He offered a closed-lipped one in return, still in awe at the powerful being in front of him.

  “And on that note!” The helmet Hanzo had been holding disappeared from his hand, and his arm was roughly grabbed by Genji before being pulled away from Satya. “We have a meeting that the Commander will murder us if we miss. We’ll see you before we leave!” Hanzo looked at his brother and was confused at why he was suddenly in his human form.

  “I thought that Overwatch employed demons?” He asked after the door had closed behind them.

  “They do! But not everybody knows they exist, so it’s best to hide whenever we enter the building to make sure no unsuspecting person finds out.”

  Hanzo nodded silently as they walked out into an orange hallway with a window on one side that stretched the length of the corridor, showcasing a stunning view of the ocean that caused Hanzo to stop and admire it. He saw that rocks were against where the wall of the building would have been, giving him the impression that the entire base is on the side of a cliff.

  “How… Is this hidden?” Hanzo asked in wonder.

  “Oh, it’s not. Everybody knows. It is an official Overwatch building after all. Also it’s pretty big on the outside, so it would be hard to miss if you’re flying or sailing by.” Genji explained.

  “Where even is this?”

  “Watchpoint Gibraltar, located on the Rock of Gibraltar.”

  Hanzo thought for a moment. “But I thought the main building was located in Switzerland?”

  “It is! The Commander’s in this headquarters right now, which is why we are here. Also this one is way better than the Swiss one. Now let’s go! The meeting room’s not much further.”

  The two moved silently to the end of the orange corridor, and after going through an automatic door, took an immediate left and moved down a little further before stopping in front of a black door with the code ‘016’ clearly labelled on it in white font.

  “We might be waiting a while, since the Commander is busy.” Genji stated before opening the door and stepping in.

  “Busy, am I?”

  The voice startled both brothers so badly, Genji dropped his disguise.

  “Commander.” Genji greeted, quickly getting over the shock and standing up straighter. “Long time no see.”

  The light turned on, though neither brother was close enough to the light-switch to do so, and Hanzo was greeted with the sight of a tall man leaning against a desk in the centre of the room, wearing a black beanie, a grey hoodie, blue cargo-pants and black knee-high combat boots. A chest armour piece, strands of shotgun ammo, and two pairs of one-handed shotguns rested on the table behind him. Twice today Hanzo was intimidated by new people. He hoped this wasn’t going to become a new habit.

  The man, who Hanzo only knew as the Commander for the time being, let out a thoughtful hum. “I suppose it has, considering it’s been almost three months since you and McCree just upped and decided to take some time off with barely a moment’s notice.” He side-eyed Hanzo. “And I suppose he has something to do with it?”

  Genji nodded, pulling Hanzo into the room and closing the door behind them. “This is my brother, Hanz-“

  “I know who he is.” The Commander interrupted, giving his full attention to the other man. “Hanzo Shimada, former leader of the Shimada Clan, and a real pain in the ass to deal with.”

  Hanzo quirked an eyebrow. “I am indeed the first two, but what specifically makes me the third? Only Genji would have any reason to call me a pain in the ass.”

  Genji’s snort was silenced by a look from the Commander, before he refocused on Hanzo. “Tell me, how many times has Overwatch attempted to take down your clan?”

  Hanzo thought for a moment. “I was directly involved in seven of them, six I almost lost my life to.”

  “What!?!” Genji startled. “I thought we agreed that no harm was to come to him!” He growled, his voice dropping an octave lower than Hanzo had heard before.

  “Yes, we did agree, but that doesn’t mean he was invincible all of a sudden. Apparently he has a knack for jumping in front of bullets.” The Commander gave Hanzo a pointed look. “And for your information, it was actually thirteen times we attempted to take you down. It wasn’t just direct attacks; we tried getting in by means other than direct attacks.” The Commander began to pace, slowly like a predator sizing up prey. “Genji here told me that you wanted to bring the clan down, and yet every time we attempted to give you a nudge in the right direction, you and your ninja army stopped us. I lost many good men because of all this.”

  Hanzo remained quiet, he was already aware that he had killed multiple people, by his own hand or by command, ever since Overwatch’s first attack. The Shimadas were wanted criminals, and Overwatch was just doing their job, much like police officers trying to uphold the law. He had only felt worse after finding out Genji was involved with the attacks, knowing that he could’ve accidentally killed his brother was not a pleasant thought. And he didn’t even know the soldiers on a personal level; he could only imagine how the Commander and Genji felt. Or even McCree; he had been a member of Overwatch well before the two brothers had become a part of his life. How could any of them stand to be around him when he was the cause of so many deaths for this organisation?

  Hanzo bowed deeply at the Commander. “I sincerely apologise for being such an insolent cur to you and Overwatch. At the time, I had thought the clan redeemable, and was attempting to forge a new and better future for us. But I was the only one with this mentality. And I was not aware that Genji was working for you; if I had then I would have been much more co-operative. But regardless of my reasons, I accept and take full responsibility for my clan’s actions. Do with it as you will.” Hanzo remained in the bow, hands clasped firmly at his sides as he waited to hear what the Commander’s next words would be.

  “I’ll decide on what to do with you after you help us finish what we’ve tried.” The Commander finally responded. “Now the reason for finally entering the building after so long, Genji?”

  Hanzo quickly straightened himself and glanced back at his brother.

  “We wish to borrow an airship.” Genji stated with the confidence of somebody who’s asked many times before.

  “And you think we just have airships lying around for ingrates like the three of you to use?”

  “We were hoping so.”

  “And why not just teleport over? It’ll be a hell of a lot faster and cheaper than using our stuff.”

  “Hanzo gets teleport-sickness, and we need him in full fighting fitness to take our family on.”

  “And I’m guessing that spirit-travel is off the list as well?”

  “Yep.”

  “Theoretically, when would you need this ship by?”

  “Pretty soon.”

  “Hmm… I still don’t know…” Why was the Commander stalling? Hanzo had thought he would’ve wanted the Shimada Clan gone more than anybody. Well, third most anyway. “I mean, it’s not an official mission by Overwatch. And also what if we need one for an actual mission but we’re fresh out?”

  “What if we made this into an official mission?” Hanzo offered. “After all, we all want the same thing; to see the clan… eliminated.”

  The Commander turned back to Hanzo. “But you’re not a member. And the initiation process takes a while to complete, and based on Genji’s words, you need to complete this really soon.”

  “Consider me voluntary then. I have heard that Overwatch takes on volunteers if they have the right qualifications. I assume you know what I am capable of?”

  “True.” The Commander nodded in agreement. “Although-”

  “What other reason do you have to push this aside?” Hanzo demanded, allowing a little anger to leak through. “We all want the same thing, you have the rights to make such a call; the only thing holding us back is your sheer amount of stubbornness. We have almost everything planned out, we just need to think over some new information we found out about yesterday.”

  Hanzo could feel his anger slipping out as he continued. All this time planning, and so close to finally getting rid of the last remaining attachments to his past, and something as trivial as transport was what was interfering them? If anybody thought Hanzo was just going to let that slide, the Commander had another thing coming.

  “Very well, Shimada.” The Commander spoke, which snapped Hanzo out of his rant before he could think of a new retort. He approached Hanzo until he stood a little under a metre apart, staring at him right in the eyes. “If you’re so desperate, I’ll comply with your demands; but you’re gonna have to follow the same rules volunteers use. You hear me?”

  Hanzo stared at him with as much energy as he could feel the Commander push onto him. “Very well.” He finally replied coolly.

 “Good. From now on, you refer to me as Commander Reyes, or just Reyes. Everything I say goes; if I say ‘Jump!’ you say ‘How high’, with the only exception being if you feel like it may endanger the team. Assuming you have everything you need, I’ll have an airship scheduled for your strike team within the next couple of days. I’ll inform one of your comrades when that has been decided. I expect you all to be here 24 hours beforehand, got it?”

  Up close, Hanzo realised that Commander Reyes might not be entirely human, for his eyes stood out against his dark skin as they glowed a faint orange colour, as well as a thin orange line wrapped around his neck, right where one would have been…

  “Yes, Commander Reyes!” Hanzo stated, thankful that his voice didn’t waver as he moved his eyes back up to his Commander’s.

  “Good, you and Genji are dismissed.” Reyes gestured with his head towards the door. Before Hanzo could register what was going on, Genji, back in his human disguise, had grabbed him by his sleeve and was dragging him out of the office for the second time that day. They walked for a couple of metres before stopping in front of another window.

  “… I have no words for what just happened…” Genji concluded, shaking his head in disbelief.

  “Did I mess up?” Hanzo asked, now realising that acting even slightly aggressive towards a higher authority might not have been the smartest idea.

  “Mess up? I’ve never seen a newbie stand up to Reyes before in such a manner. And he was impressed. He could feel the desperation to get rid of the clan roll off you likes waves on a stormy sea.”

  “As in literally or figuratively?”

  “Both. You sounded really desperate if I may be honest.”

  “By this point, I am. I just all this over and done with so I can move on.” Hanzo admitted. Genji recognised that his tone was an exact match to the one he used ten years ago when confessing that he was tired of doing what the Elders wanted. This whole ordeal was beginning to take its toll on Hanzo, if his near-rage towards Reyes was any indicator of it.

  “I understand, Hanzo. But soon enough it will be all behind us. No more pretending to be somebody you’re not.” Genji rested an arm around Hanzo as he led him back down the same windowed hallway that contained the breathtaking view from before.

  Hanzo then remembered the feeling he had earlier when Genji was telling him of Commander Reyes, and he finally understood why he was feeling it.

  “I related myself to him.” Hanzo mumbled, quiet enough that most people without supernaturally-advanced hearing couldn’t hear.

  Genji looked at him in confusion, his arm faltering for a split second. “I’m sorry?”

  Hanzo shook his head in disbelief. “I… can relate to Reyes’ behaviour; acting cold towards newbies but opening up to those that stick around. It… was something I used to do… but I never got past the cold act for the most part…”

  Genji nodded sombrely. “It was after being forced to do more jobs that a leader should do.” He remembered “You grew to distrust everybody, even me. I actually remember thinking that he was just like you when I first met him. God, how could I have forgotten?”

  “Quite easily, if I had to guess.” Hanzo jabbed.

  “Fair enough.” Genji chuckled. “But… I absolutely hated what you had become during that time.”

  “’The Elders’ Lap Dog’ was one of your favourite titles, I believe.”

  “It was, as childish as it was.”

  “It was a fitting description to what I had become.” Hanzo acknowledged.

  “What was?” The familiar voice of Satya asked just ahead of them. Hanzo’s head snapped up to face her, and he did a double-take when he saw how drastically her change from dragon-human-hybrid went. Her previously dark purple and fiery red scales were replaced with skin that hinted at Indian or Middle East ethnicity, her tail-thing replaced with proper black hair that reached to the base of her spine. Her golden arm had also changed; now mostly white with hints of blue, which matched with the blue knee-length dress she currently wore.

  Wait, was she just naked before!?!

  “Nothing that you should be concerned about, Satya.” Genji interjected. “Just discussing stuff that we’re going to kill soon enough.”

  “Ah, so I take it that your meeting with the Commander went well then?” She asked, resting her flesh arm on her… fake?... arm.

  Hanzo nodded. “He agreed to allow us to go if we made our… ambition… into an official Overwatch mission, which means that I am temporarily working for them.

  “Well then, allow me to be the first to welcome you to Overwatch, Cadet Shimada.” Satya smiled warmly. “I hope you come to enjoy it as much as we do.”

  “If they are good on their word, then I will be satisfied with no problem.” Hanzo offered her a smile in return.

  “Anyway!” Genji interrupted. “We need to get back home. There is still a little bit of planning that must be seen to.”

  “Aw, just as your brother was about to make a new friend?” Satya raised her perfectly human eyebrows in surprise.

  “If all goes well, we will meet within the next couple of days.” Hanzo informed her.

  “Well then, I look forward to it. The well is still charged enough for you two to leave, helmets are where you left them. Until next time Shimadas.”

…

  “So I heard the good news!” Genji stated, that god-awful smirk on his face as he and Hanzo finally reached the motorbike.

  “Is what true?” Hanzo asked, immediately on edge.

  “Jesse asked you out and now you’re going on a date?” Genji prompted. “To ‘talk about the price for the deal you two made ages ago’?”

  “Yes, it appears so. Why? Are you weirded out by this?”

  “No! Not at all!” Genji stated. “It is a bit weird, since he’s technically my ex even though we don’t refer to each other as such. But don’t let that get between you two!”

  “Oh, I wasn’t planning to. But thank you for your blessing.”

  “… Sometimes I miss the days when you weren’t such a smart-ass.”


	12. Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanzo worries about how the date will turn out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter took so long to come about! I just could not figure out how to write it! This is the best I can offer.  
> But on the flipside, I have most of the next chapter written out, so that one should ideally be out much sooner!
> 
> Also, a quick reminder that I have updated Chapter 2 and that I have created a new Chapter 3. You’re more than welcome to go back and read them if you’re interested. Chapter 2 mentions something that will appear in the next chapter, if that's any incentive to do so.

  When the two brothers came home from their meeting, they were met with a silent household.

  Well, Hanzo was met with a silent household. Genji was still outside moving his bike to the garage shared by the apartment. Hanzo adjusted the long bag draped across his arm as he cautiously entered the loungeroom, seeing that McCree wasn’t where Hanzo had last seen him earlier that morning. Perhaps he had somewhere to be?

  Pulling out his phone, he sent a quick text to McCree asking where he was as he headed upstairs to his room. He stopped in front of his door after seeing a note attached to the front. His eyes quickly moved to read what was on it.

_5:45 tomorrow night._  
  Don’t keep me waiting.  
  ;)

  Hanzo chuckled. “Really? You could not have just told me directly?” His phone buzzed in his hand; a reply from Jesse.

  “In my room, training. You’re welcome to join me. :P”

  “So that’s where you went.” Hanzo quickly opened his bedroom door and placed the bag on his bed before leaving and closing the door behind him, walking the few metres towards his date’s room. He raised his fist to knock, but the door opened before he could.

  “Howdy! Heard the meeting went well.” Jesse greeted.

  “I suppose it did. I still have my head, I believe.” Hanzo replied, moving past McCree and into the training room. “Speaking of, neither you nor Genji mentioned he was a demon as well.”

  “A Reaper. That’s what he is.” McCree explained, leaving the door open for a still absent Genji. “Lost his head back in 1750, and became that as a result. You heard of the Headless Horseman?”

  “That was him?” Hanzo asked in surprise, shrugging his jacket off and tossing it onto the bench.

  “Well, the rumour yeah. The story not so much. I’ll tell you another time. Right now Genji wants to spar.”

  “That I do!” Genji declared as he finally showed up. “Sorry if I took too long. Reyes called. He wants us to send him a dossier with all the information we have collected so far so he can go through it himself and approve of what we have collected.”

  “A dossier?” Hanzo chuckled. “That is a term that I have not heard in a long time.”

  “Oh trust me; if you decide to join Overwatch fulltime, you will learn all the lingo necessary.”

  “I plan to see how my volunteer trip goes first.” Hanzo explained. “Well, that and I promised to hang out with Miss Vaswani if the opportunity presents itself.”

  Apparently Genji had a chance to change clothes since Hanzo last saw him, since now he was dressed similarly to McCree; both wearing black tank-tops and black track-pants with red stripes down the sides, as well as no footwear. When he asked why they happened to match during a previous training session, Hanzo was told it was the standard uniform for exercising for their division of Overwatch.

  Genji closed the door behind him before rushing at Jesse so fast Hanzo didn’t even realise until McCree had thrown his brother into a wall with quite a considerable amount of force. Yet Genji got back up like it was nothing. Just how durable were demons?

  Hanzo quickly moved over to the bench while the two demons continued to duke it out. They moved so fast, even when Hanzo tried to keep track where either of them were, they always managed to slip out of his sight for a split second. And the force of one of them throwing the other to the ground or against a wall was astounding! Attacks that he had no doubt would knock the wind out of the strongest of humans and leave them dazed, these demons simply shrugged off. The most either of them showed after being on the receiving end of one of those attacks was a mere blink and a headshake from McCree before charging right back in.

  But despite the chaos of the demonic fight going on before him, Hanzo was able to tell the two apart based their distinct fighting styles he had seen and fought against himself. Genji, being raised in a clan that still used the ways of ninjutsu, was quick and agile, favouring dancing around his opponent before ducking in and getting a few sharp jabs in key areas of the body before ducking away, very rarely trying to use the other’s bodyweight against them if he could. McCree, being more well-built and relying more on upper-body strength, was able to handle those punches, and waited for Genji to get close enough to either land a jarring punch across the face or in the gut, or to grab Genji and throw him into a wall or onto the floor.

  It was as clear as day that both had fought against the other to the point where they had something of a routine, almost like a dance, go on between them. Hanzo found himself unable to look away, captivated by the performance before him.

  Or maybe he just letting the magic in the room affect him and this was one of the side effects.

  Either way, he was slightly disappointed when the two finally stopped, both covered in a sheen of sweat. How much time had passed? Hanzo forgot to keep track.

  “Sorry about that, Hanzo.” Jesse said, looking disappointed in himself for not holding up his offer from earlier.

  “Oh, do not worry.” Hanzo rushed to forgive. “I didn’t want to interrupt… I have never seen fighting like that before…” He inwardly cringed. Never seen fighting like that? Even though he was being completely honest, he felt ridiculous for admitting it.

  “Yeah, blew me away when I first saw Jesse and Reyes going all out for the first time.” Genji confirmed, surprising Hanzo. “It made me realise how strong they were, and how much they were holding back for the mortals.” Genji grinned. “When I was changed and Reyes wanted to go up against me, he sent me flying through the air.”

  “Were you injured?” Hanzo asked as the three of them began to head towards the exit.

  “Surprisingly, not that much. I mean, it hurt like a bitch, but not as much as it should have. And as I continued to fight and get thrown into walls I eventually grew a higher pain tolerance.”

  “Still no match for Reyes though.” Jesse proclaimed as he reversed the magic seal and took it off his bedroom door.

  “I’m getting there!”

  “Darlin’, I’m a good two centuries ahead of you, and I still can’t beat him without him using a handicap. What chance do you have?”

  “It’s only because he’s whole; no part of him is sealed away like the rest of us!” Genji declared.

  “I’m going to work on the dossier.” Hanzo stated, wanting nothing to do with this sudden argument. He had several dozen notebooks worth of information to condense into a brief report, and it was going to take all his time and patience to get through it to an acceptable level.

  Then he planned to use the rest of his sanity on fretting over tomorrow.

…

  The moment he woke up the next day and realised what it had planned for him, all Hanzo could think of was what he could offer McCree as payment for the deal.

  That was the whole point of the ‘date’ to begin with, wasn’t it? To settle on something for all that the demon had done for him. But nothing that Hanzo came up with was satisfactory, or at least he thought so. It was how he was raised and brought up; any offer of help was expected to be greatly rewarded. He remembered all the offerings the other clans gave to the Shimadas every time they stepped in to help with whatever conundrum they were in, from great treasures to an uncomfortable number of offers to marry the scion of the leaders. And while he may no longer hold that belief as close as he did eleven years ago, either old habits died hard or he just really wanted to show his gratitude to the man that, when thinking about it, gave Hanzo a new shot at life. How do you repay for something as huge as that?

  It had put the human off-kilter for most of the day. Training with his brother in the morning did little to ease his mind, going as far as to unintentionally ignore the ‘Leave Room’ alarm for a good couple of minutes before rushing to get out, still worried about the uncertain consequences that may befall him.

  Then the man he was worrying about decided to disappear shortly after lunch, refusing to tell Hanzo but sharing it with Genji based on the latter’s reaction. All that did was fuel the fire on what was going to happen tonight.

  But it began to burn out forty minutes before the designated time to meet up with Jesse, when he began to get ready for his evening. After washing and shaving for the most part, he had to look as close to perfect as possible, he pulled out the bag from yesterday, containing a brand-new pinstripe suit for him to wear just for this occasion, courtesy of his ever-eager brother.

  After ironing and putting the trousers on, he pulled out the dress shirt his brother had offered to let him borrow for tonight. However, it wasn’t until after he had put it on that he realised just what kind of tastes Genji had.

  Hanzo stood in front of his bedroom mirror, partly in horror and partly in awe at the recently ironed shirt that the demon had given him to wear. The right side of the shirt was black and the left side was white, but what made the shirt stand out was the dragon that formed the black side, while a cloudy background made up the white side. It was an impressive shirt, but it left many questions for Hanzo to ask.

  So the Shimada grabbed his tie and vest before heading out to the loungeroom where Genji was watching some show Hanzo just couldn’t ‘get into’. When Genji realised his brother was there in ‘the shirt’, he began to chuckle.

  “Brother… how?” Hanzo sighed.

  “What? It’s a gift from a friend!” Genji defended with a smirk on his face.

  “What kind of friends so you have?”

  “The kind with a sense of humour! And really into Taoism.”

  Hanzo just huffed. “Fine. It’s better than nothing.” He unrolled his matching blue tie. “By the way, you wouldn’t happen to know what McCree would be interested in, would you?”

  “I might.”

  Hanzo waited a few seconds to see if the other planned to continue. When nothing came, he probed. “And…”

  “Why should I give this information away for free?”

  “Because I’m your brother?”

  “Yeah, not enough apparently. I just feel like telling you the answers shouldn’t be so easy. It’s like you need to work for it.”

  Hanzo just rolled his eyes. “Nevermind, I’ll figure it out myself.”

  “Fine, have it your way.” He was silent for a few seconds. “Okay honestly I have no clue as to what you can offer.”

  “I’m not surprised.” Hanzo sighed, wrapping the tie around his neck and beginning to tie it up. “Everything I think of just doesn’t seem right. He doesn’t seem like…” Hanzo struggled to come up with an example for a few seconds. “Like the kind of guy to accept money as payment, even though what he did was worth more than the entire Shimada fortune.”

  “You are right on that one.” Genji agreed. “Have you thought of sex?”

  “Genji!” Hanzo verbally snapped, his face turning red.

  “What, just a suggestion!” He defended.

  “I thought you weren’t offering suggestions?”

  “I mean- Oh nevermind! I decided to be helpful!”

  “So what would you accept?” Hanzo asked, finishing up his tie and grabbing the vest draped across his arm. “Say somebody made a deal with you. What do you think is fair pay?”

  “Hmm…” Genji pondered. “Well, I would accept an offer of sex.” His answer was met with an eye roll. “But what else? Your first born? A vow of everlasting dedication and servitude? A call-in for a favour one day?”

  “You think highly of yourself.” Hanzo mumbled, knowing his brother could hear it.

  “Well in fairness, I am yet to make a deal.”

  “Really? I thought you have been a demon for two years. How have you not made any deals?”

  “I’m not too sure, honestly. Perhaps two years is too young to be summoned.”

  Hanzo was silent for a few seconds as he focused on buttoning up his waistcoat. “Have you asked Jesse or Commander Reyes about it?”

  “Well, Reyes isn’t the right kind of demon, and Jesse just said it will take time. Speaking of which!”

  A door upstairs opened, and a surprisingly well-dressed Jesse McCree descended the stairs. Much like Hanzo, he had chosen to wear a suit, but his was black with a red dress shirt with a matching red tie, and he wore a jacket instead of just the waistcoat. It hugged his body snugly, tight in all the right places. His hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, and he even trimmed his facial hair so it was so much neater than his usual wind-blown look.

  McCree looked at the man in front of him in awe. Of course, Hanzo had always looked like a god regardless of what he wore, but tonight he looked extremely remarkable, especially considering he had never seen the man in such formal attire. The black pinstripe suit truly showed the more serious side of the Shimada, even without the jacket, but to Jesse, it just made the human more charming than he already was. The dress shirt underneath the waistcoat he recognised as Genji’s gag-gift from his not-boyfriend, but it suited Hanzo way better than it did for the other brother.

  “You look stunning, Hanzo.” Jesse breathed.

  Hanzo blushed faintly. “Thank you. You look impeccable, and have cleaned up surprisingly well.”

  “Well, thank you kindly.” Jesse bowed before offering his arm for his date. “Hope you’re ready to get blown off your feet with the most romantic experience you’ve had in your life.”

  “I have high expectations now.” Hanzo smiled as he accepted McCree’s arm. For a few minutes, he decided he could forgot about the deal and just look forward to spending an entire evening with this handsome man before him.

  “Well, you two go off and have fun! I’ll just be here, keeping the house safe and definitely not gonna mess with the elders while you are gone!” Genji announced while the two moved over to the front door to put their shoes on.

  “Now that sounds like fun.” Jesse laughed, then frowned. “I thought you were gonna Spirit-Travel to see your not-boyfriend.”

  Hanzo shrugged with one shoulder as he opened the door. “He can do what he likes. He’s a two-year-old demon; he can manage.” He smirked.

  Jesse just shook his head, unable to suppress a grin as the young Shimada threw an insult that fell on two pairs of deaf ears. “What a nice brother you are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hanzo's outfit inspired by the recently released 'Scion' skin from the Retribution event. His shirt was inspired by this amazing concept that I immediately fell in love with: http://seizure-seven.tumblr.com/image/172977301391   
> McCree's outfit inspired by this amazing artwork, because I can't imagine McCree in a suit for shit!: https://memestatic.fjcdn.com/pictures/Oh_f2b5fa_6148656.jpg


	13. Payment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanzo and Jesse go out on their date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might come back and edit some things, just as a heads up, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

  The place Jesse had chosen as their date location made Hanzo question just how much they got paid as agents of Overwatch. Either they got too many bonuses, or Overwatch really was just a great place to work if you wanted a nice pay check.

  Hanzo found himself tugging at the adjusted sleeves of his borrowed dress shirt as he walked into the reception area by McCree’s side. This was reminding him too much of when he used to conduct business meetings back with the clan. The only difference was he used to have to pay the owner a considerable amount of money to make sure he and his client got a private spot so no nosy restaurant goers would overhear any plots for murder. At least he hoped McCree didn’t pay the place extra; they were still conducting business after all, just not the regular mortal kind.

  “Good evening, I have a booking under Morricone for 6:15?” A human-looking Jesse asked the front-of-house staff that was handling the reception.

  “Yes, we have you. If you will follow me to your table, please.” The gentleman confirmed after checking the list. Grabbing three menus from behind the desk and a glass bottle full of water from a hidden fridge, the three headed over towards the back of the room, weaving by other tables with varying amounts of people on them, to a booth by the window sandwiched between two others. Private, but not to the amount Hanzo was used to. He found himself silently nodding in approval.

  “Thank you.” Hanzo said as he and Jesse took their seats. The gentleman nodded and handed each a food menu before placing the drinks menu and bottle in the centre of the table before leaving with the promise of a waiter coming by soon.

  “Do we want any entrées?” Jesse asked, placing his menu in front of him to pick up the glass bottle and pour himself some water.

  Hanzo hummed disapprovingly. “I have never been able to completely eat both an entrée and main meal. So I’ll pass, unfortunately.”

  “Not gonna force you, darlin’.” Jesse grabbed Hanzo’s glass and gave him some water as well. “You want any alcohol? This place has some nice stuff, or so Genji told me.” He finished and placed the glass in front of Hanzo before picking his menu back up.

  Hanzo placed his own menu down to grab the drinks one and quickly browsed through it. “Hmm… did he make any recommendations?”

  “Yeah, said the cider, merlot, and the rum is pretty good. Also the sake’s kinda flat.”

  Hanzo sighed. “Of course.” It was a constant plight to find a good restaurant overseas that sold above-average sake. He swore that one day he will find a place, but today was not that day so it seems. “I guess I’ll have a cider.”

  “Fair enough.” It was silent between the two for a few moments as they each consulted their menus. Until McCree, seemingly having chosen what he wanted to order, placed his menu back in front of him and gave his full attention to the human across from him. “So… what can you offer me in return for my services?”

  Hanzo inhaled slowly through his nose. “Truthfully, I haven’t put much thought into what I can give you until earlier today. And unfortunately, I don’t think there is much I can offer at the moment.”

  “It’s alright, darlin’.” Jesse reassured. “Honestly, it was more of an excuse to ask you out than anything else.”

  Hanzo huffed, a smile sneaking its way onto his face. “And it worked.”

  “That it did. And all it took was us getting into an awkward position and my ex catching us and making fun of us to get it started.”

  “So you were not just embarrassed at your ex seeing you and his brother in a “suggestive position”, but also at my brother pressing us about a relationship that hasn’t happened yet?”

  “Yeah… in hindsight, it wasn’t a shining example of what I can offer you, other than how easy it is to embarrass me. But enough about that. I want to talk about the now and the future, not the past.” McCree looked at Hanzo as he finally found something to his liking and placed the menu down. “If you’d rather focus less on the deal and more on the date itself, then by all means, just tell me to shut up and you won’t hear a peep from me about it for the rest of the evening.”

  “As inviting as that sounds, I would much rather get all of this out of the way soon instead of continuously pushing it away to deal with later. And I do have a few things I would like to lay on the table for you to consider.”

  “Well shoot, honey. Go for it.”

  Honey. Hanzo quite liked that name.

  “Well… the first thing on my mind is more on the… unsavoury side of things.”

  McCree wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Ew, next please!”

  Hanzo raised his eyebrows. “I thought a lot of demons would accept sex as payment.”

  “Well, not that I wouldn’t mind doing something along the lines of that with you in the future.” Jesse winked, resulting in Hanzo rolling his eyes at the suggestion. “And yeah, it is one way to complete the deal. But offering sex in such a manner is horrible. There’s little to no emotion behind the action. Its more like you’re doing it out of obligation rather than because you genuinely want to. And if you’re an immortal being like me, then you have to go about the rest of your existence with that on your conscious.”

  “So I take it that you have settled on that kind of payment before?”

  “Yeah, and I regret it. Kinda. It wasn’t that bad all things considered, but I don’t want you specifically to stoop to that level.”

  “Fine then.” Hanzo remained quiet for a moment to collect his thoughts. Perfect timing, as a waiter had decided to come over.

  “Are you two ready to order?” He asked.

  “Yes. I’ll have a medium-rare eye fillet with tomato and bocconcini salad.” Hanzo said.

  “I’ll have a medium t-bone with spiced fries.” McCree ordered. “And we’d also like to get two glasses of cider, one on the rocks, one straight up.”

  “Very well.” The waiter finished writing their order on his pad. “I’ll bring your drinks over shortly.”

  “Thank you.” Hanzo nodded as the man left. He then focused back onto Jesse. “I just realised that this may not be the most appropriate place to have this conversation.”

  “Nah, don’t worry. I have a glamour around us. Nobody can hear what we’re talking about unless we’re talking directly to them.”

  Hanzo sighed in relief, not aware of the tightness in his chest at the thought of others overhearing what they are talking about and potentially freaking out. He just chalked it up as another lingering habit from running the Shimada Clan.

  “So if you won’t accept sex… what about a large sum of money or treasure? The Shimadas have an enormous collection of artefacts from all around the world. I’m sure there could be something to your taste.”

  “Ha, maybe for Satya or my old man, but not me personally.” Jesse admitted. “And money’s not an issue.”

  “But you may find yourself in a situation where you are in need of extra cash.” Hanzo pointed out.

  “If I find myself in a situation that I don’t wanna be in, I just disappear.” McCree explained. “Or ask my friends to spare some change.”

  Hanzo just huffed quietly as he saw the same waiter carrying a tray with two tall glasses filled with an amber liquid over to their booth.

  “Thank you very much.” McCree replied, taking the glasses and handing the one with ice over to Hanzo. How did he know how Hanzo liked his cider?

  “Your meals will be over soon.” The waiter promised. The two men nodded their heads simultaneously as he headed back towards the kitchen.

  Hanzo fell silent as he took a sip of his drink, enjoying the spicy fruit flavour that danced along his palate. What else was there to offer? McCree wasn’t kidding when he said he wasn’t good at making deals. Or perhaps Hanzo just didn’t have what Jesse really wanted. But what could that be?

  “I can see the wheels in your head turning, darlin’.” Said demon stated, forcing Hanzo to look over at his companion.

  “I was just thinking on how impossible it is to deal with you.” Hanzo smirked.

  “Ow, you wound me.” Jesse faked clenching at his heart. “You’re lucky this organ no longer works, or else I’d need a doctor.” The two laughed at McCree’s pathetic joke.

  “Does it really not work?” Hanzo asked as the laughter died down.

  “Okay, you caught me. It does, but not in the way you’re familiar.” McCree explained. “It beats much slower than a human’s, to the point where it might as well be dead.” He stopped and looked over at his human across from him, that same thoughtful look he had on a few seconds ago was back. “And why’s your head back into Thinking Mode?”

  “What about my soul?” Hanzo asked without thinking the question through.

  “Pardon?” Jesse’s eyes snapped back over to Hanzo, a look of horror snapping his human disguise off as Hanzo caught a glimpse of his black eyes. Immediately Hanzo wanted to stop and apologise for asking such an outrageous question, but there was something in his mind that told him to try at least.

  “Is that not what is normally bargained during demonic deals? Besides, you saved one life on my behalf, why not take and own mine for yourself? Make me into your subordinate or even a demon like you did with Genji.” Did demons even make servants in the first place?

  “Darlin’, I don’t think that’s really an acceptable way to close a deal. Claiming your soul prematurely isn’t exactly something I’d enjoy doing.”

  “What if I’m dying?”

  McCree looked like he would rather have his seat swallow him whole than keep having this discussion. But at this point Hanzo was on a roll, and he would rather have this discussion than continue to clash against McCree’s counter-arguments.

  “If and when I find myself near death’s door, you can come and claim my soul, turning me into a demon or whatever it is you wish to do with it. Is that not a fair deal? You saved my brother’s life on two separate occasions, and one of them wasn’t part of our deal. Taking mine would be a fitting way to close this deal.”

  “Don’t say ‘taking’ as if I’m gonna murder you, please.” Jesse looked uncomfortable at the suggestion, his eyebrows pinched together, and his hands clasped around his drink. “Also the fact that you’re way too willing to throw your existence on the table just like that has me worried about you.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry for worrying you like this. But everything else that I have offered you keep pushing aside. What I’m proposing is a fair trade, is it not?”

  “… I suppose…” Jesse replied meekly.

  “And I know you can and will save people you care about if they are close to death, even if it means changing their very nature.”

  “I have… and I will.” He replied with a little more confidence.

  “Then I believe we have finally come to an agreement.” Hanzo spoke with a note of finality. “When I find myself dying, whether of natural causes or not, you will come and claim my soul, as payment for the deal we made ten years ago.”

  “And I agree to claim your soul once you are dying and do with it as I please.” McCree’s voice rang out with no faults, as if he had come to accept what will inevitably happen. His eyes flashed red as he stretched his right arm across the table and offered it to the human.

  Hanzo immediately took it, grasping it firmly.

  McCree caught Hanzo off-guard by gently pulling the human’s hand closer to his side of the table, flipping it palm up as he pressed a brief kiss to the scar that ran across it. Hanzo felt a slight sting that disappeared as quick as it came. When he was able to finally pull his hand back to inspect, he gasped softly as he saw the fresh skin that ran where the scar used to reside. It was noticeably paler in comparison to the rest of his hand, but no longer was the reminder there.

  “The deal is closed.” Jesse sighed. Hanzo looked over to him to see that the demon appeared more relaxed now, like a great weight was lifted from his shoulders, and Hanzo could feel something similar in himself. McCree noticed the human staring and offered him a small but sweet smile. Hanzo offered his own just as their food arrived at the table.

 


	14. All Good Things Must Come To An End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some quiet time in the park leads to Hanzo's thoughts wandering.

  Now that the deal had finally been closed, the two were finally able to truly enjoy each other’s company.

  The meal was great, ‘Among the best I’ve had outside of Japan’ Hanzo proudly stated as if it was a feat few could achieve. With his more-often-than-not expensive tastes, McCree was certain it actually was one.

  The two left the restaurant, after arguing for a few minutes over who got to pay the bill (McCree won), and they began to slowly stroll seemingly aimlessly down the footpath. When they had entered the restaurant, the sun had only just started to set. But now it had completely disappeared, leaving a blanket of stars hanging in the sky and sparkling over the couple like millions of fireflies, with a full moon to guide them to their mysterious destination. Their shoes kicked small piles of snow up into the air, and it was then that Hanzo realised that perhaps he should have bought his suit jacket to keep the eventual cold away. He decided to bear with it, even if only for a little while longer.

  A short time later, Jesse pulled Hanzo to the side and into another building, catching the Shimada off-guard. A quick glance around revealed the establishment to be an ice-cream parlour, its mint-green, strawberry-pink and chocolate-brown paintjob an immediate eyecatcher. Several tables were sprinkled around the place, though few of them were occupied.

  “Does a hot brownie sundae sound good for you, sugar?” Jesse asked.

  “I thought I mentioned-“ Hanzo began.

  “For us to share.” Jesse was quick to clarify. Hanzo could almost hear an ‘Y’know, like a couple’ at the end of that.

  With a silent nod followed by a gentle smile, Jesse quickly ordered their shared semi-frozen treat, and since nobody else was ordering, they had their dessert in hand in almost no time.

  But Hanzo was caught off-guard once again when Jesse ushered him out of the parlour and back onto the dark streets. Holding their flesh hands together, the demon led the human across the car-less road to where Hanzo was quick to identify as the local park.

  While they had been there several times during the day where it was busy, there was something surreal about being there at night once they had set foot within its perimeter. The silence that was usually filled with the voices of other living beings had a haunted feeling to it, and it didn’t help how the moonlight peaked through the leaves of the trees as they strolled along the path towards the centre of the park. Normally this kind of quietness would put Hanzo on edge, fearful of something jumping out of the shadows at him, but not tonight, for he was walking alongside what he considered to be far more dangerous than whatever the darkness of the park could ever hope to offer.

  Finally, McCree stopped in front of one of the benches that circled the giant fountain that stood as the proud centrepiece of the park. Handing the dessert to his date, he began to shrug off his coat.

  “It’s getting kinda nippy, don’t you think?” He suggested.

  Hanzo politely shook his head, fully knowing where this was going. “I’ll be fine. I’ve been in worse.”

  “C’mon now, I’m tryin’ to be a gentleman and sweep you off your feet.”

  “And you have done a marvellous job thus far. There’s no need to go any further.”

  Jesse looked at Hanzo and pouted, his eyes having returned to their natural (or supernatural) black voids.

  Hanzo rolled his eyes and traded the dessert for the jacket with a joking huff. “How can I resist those puppy eyes?” He asked as he pulled one arm through a sleeve.

  “Not many can, I’m just such a charmer.” Jesse smiled as he took a seat. Hanzo followed him after the jacket was securely on his body and accepted the plastic spoon offered at him without a word as the two finally began to eat their dessert, the fountain before them quietly splashing and bubbling before them.

  Hanzo found himself lost in thought while he ate. It was true what Jesse had said earlier; he had been nothing but an absolute gentleman throughout the entirety of this date. Having paid for their meals and dessert, offering his jacket, even having proposed the date in the first place. Other than the inappropriate comment earlier, Jesse McCree had been a wonderful companion for this evening.

  And what had Hanzo done? Nothing. Or at least nothing as grand as McCree’s acts. All he did was offer a solution to their deal and somewhat guilted Jesse into accepting it, Hanzo realised with a frown. Hanzo paled in comparison to what Jesse had done.  What good was he other than a measly waste of somebody else’s time?

  “You alright, honey?” Jesse asked, looking at his date with worry.

  “I’m fine. It is just… it feels odd to be here at this time.” Hanzo offered instead of his real thoughts.

  “Yeah, happened to me a few times when I first moved here and began to visit during a few nightly strolls.”

  “You go out at night?” Hanzo asked.

  “Well, I used to. I haven’t in… a couple of months.” Jesse was thoughtful for a moment, before looking back at Hanzo, offering him a smile. “Don’t worry. It’ll pass.”

  “I hope so.” Hanzo’s gaze lowered to their half-eaten sundae. Out of Hanzo’s vision, McCree looked thoughtful for a moment before pushing the sundae into Hanzo’s hands.

  Without waiting for a reply or offering an explanation, the demon leaned forward and rubbed his hands together. Hanzo could see the red spots in his eyes as they stared directly at the ground in front of him. He began to move his metal hand in a strange motion, and before Hanzo could ask what the demon was doing, he saw something breaking the soil. A stem poked out, growing quickly as a bud appeared. Then the bud grew bigger, until it bloomed into a flower he knew was not native to this land, or any land for that matter. And while he could not see what the colours were thanks to the darkness, he knew by heart what they were; blood red and ocean blue.

  Once the flower was done growing, Jesse picked it from the base of its stem and presented it to Hanzo.

  “A pretty flower for pretty man such as yourself.” He offered a dazzling smile to go with it.

  “Why thank you.” Hanzo gingerly took it from the demon, rotating it in one hand as he balanced the sundae in the other. “You know… I still have the first one you grew, back when you were trying to prove that I was not just having crazy dreams.”

  “Yeah, I saw when we Spirit-Travelled. It’s in the corner of your office.” McCree smiled. “I didn’t peg you as a nature-man, if I’m to be honest.”

  “I love nature; it’s calming and peaceful. It has offered me moments to myself when I needed time away from the Elders.” Hanzo brought the flower up to his nose to smell, smiling at the familiar scent of morning dew, sandalwood, and some type of spice; a combo that genuinely surprised him when he first smelled it, but he was quick to grow fond of it. “The Elders absolutely hate the smell that come from this… specimen.”

  McCree hummed in agreement. “It’s an odd one, that flower. Only certain people can actually stand the smell.”

  Hanzo frowned. “So does it actually smell repulsive and my nose is just lying to me?”

  McCree waved his metal hand. “Not in that sense. I don’t know how it works, just that some people like it, and others don’t. Like most smells I guess.”

  Hanzo hummed in agreement as he placed the forgotten sundae next to him. The two sat in a comfortable silence, staring up at the stars as Hanzo continued to fiddle with the flower. He now felt even more useless as McCree continued to show what a remarkable man he was. Surely there was something that the human could offer…

  Carefully and within Hanzo’s eyesight, Jesse moved his hand over to Hanzo's and gingerly took the flower from him without saying anything. He then leaned forward, causing the Shimada to inhale quickly, and tucked it into Hanzo's bun, surprising the human at what he thought the demon had been planning to do.

  Once the other man was sure it was securely in place, Hanzo decided to take business into his own hands as he raised them up to capture McCree’s. He gently brought them to his lips and grazed the demon’s knuckles against his lips, his eyes closing as he felt the flesh hand leave his grasp to gently cup Hanzo’s face, the thumb stroking his cheek as the metal hand moved the hand still holding it down to the gap between them. Hanzo felt a small blush creep up his face as he opened his eyes to look up and lock with Jesse’s, who was staring at him with an emotion Hanzo had never thought would ever be directed at him.

  “May I?” Hanzo asked quietly, his voice quivering.

  “Of course, Hanzo.” Jesse replied, a fleeting smile dancing on his lips. “If that is alright with you, of course.”

  Hanzo didn’t reply, feeling a smile of his own ghost across his lips before doing something he never thought he would do in his life.

  He leaned forward, gently pulling Jesse towards him with his free hand, and sealed his lips over the demon’s for his first real kiss.

  The initial contact felt strange as they tried to understand what the other was going for. One was trying to keep it soft and sweet, while the other was trying to put more emotion into it than he normally would. For a brief moment, they both settled on the soft and sweet side, keeping the movement to a minimum. But the movement became more frequent as both began to put more passion into their actions. One cautious tongue gently tapped at the other’s lips, asking for permission. Before long both were exploring new territory, memorising the feeling of how the other felt so they had something to look forward to the next time they kissed.

  But after what felt an eternity, they both finally parted, gasping at the sudden surge of emotions that had exploded between them.

   “Not bad for my first time, huh?” Hanzo breathed, a smile gracing his lips.

  “That was…” Jesse gasped.

  “My first serious one, with genuine emotions behind it.” Hanzo reassured. “I have had some experience.”

  “Well shucks, I’m glad to be bestowed with this great honour, darlin’.” Jesse leaned forward and rested his forehead against the other man’s, his own smile starting to appear. “You really are doin’ a number on me, Hanzo.”

  “Rest assure, you have left quite the impact on me as well, Jesse.”

…

  The rest of the night passed by in a blur after that. When Hanzo tried to recall what did go on afterwards, nothing much came to mind. He thought he could remember coming home, but perhaps he was just confusing that with any other time he arrived back late at night.

  Hanzo just shook his head. It didn’t matter what had transpired after that glorious night. It was one that Hanzo hoped to never forget, both in memory and in feeling.

…

  The next day, Hanzo came downstairs to see the back of Genji’s head as he sat on the couch, the TV broadcasting the local news.

  “Do you know if the commander received the dossier?” Hanzo stopped in the hallway to ask, remembering handing the hand-written file to Genji to give to the commander before going to get ready for the date.

  “He did.” Genji spoke, snapping his head in Hanzo’s direction. “He said he’ll go through it once he has a chance.”

  Hanzo made a move to head towards the kitchen, but he was startled by Genji’s suddenly appearing beside him, resting a hand on his shoulder.

  “There’s something I saw last night while you were gone.” Genji’s hand tightened as he spoke, the foreboding tone immediately setting Hanzo on edge.

  “What happened when you went to the Shimada Castle?” Hanzo spoke, not realising how he has slipped back into his Leader voice. Yet it didn’t seem to faze the young Shimada.

  “I had literally just gotten there,” Genji started. “when Neikan and Gorou entered your office with somebody not from the clan.”

  Genji took a deep breath, his eyes squeezed shut as he thought about which words to say next. What he did choose made Hanzo’s blood freeze in his veins.

  “It was the one they had selected to marry you off to.”


	15. Too Much

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Too much information, but not enough answers.

  “No!” Hanzo cried, tearing his shoulder away from his brother, but not before the demon saw the horrified look covering the human’s paled face. “We were supposed to stop them before they could do anything about that!” Hanzo shook his head as if the simple action could immediately cease whatever the elders were plotting.

  “I know, brother.” Genji sighed. “But we can still stop them. We just have to do it really soon.” He added with hope in his voice.

  “When did they say it will happen?” Hanzo asked, his voice cracking towards the end.

  “They didn’t. I don’t think they have planned that far ahead yet. All they did was show him the office and explain to him what would happen once he became a Shimada.”

  “Who is it they chose?”

  Genji was silent for a moment too long, causing Hanzo’s heart to hammer harder against his chest.

  “Renko Akiyama, the second eldest son of the Akiyama Clan.” Genji covered his face and lowered his head.

  The colour returned to Hanzo’s face as his emotions switched from one extreme to the next.

  “Of all the people in the world… they chose him?”  Hanzo growled in disgust. Genji just nodded meekly. Any fear Hanzo had felt was replaced with anger, and all he wanted to do was head over to Hanamura to kill all the elders barehanded, slowly and as painful as possible. He felt his fingernails dig into the palms of his hands as he balled them up, preparing for a fight he knew wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.

  A cool metal hand suddenly wrapping around his wrist snapped him out of his fury. An arm soon wrapped around his torso and dragged him into a warm chest.

  “I’m so sorry, darlin’.” Jesse’s gentle voice whispered in his ear.

  “I thought you were busy.” Hanzo mumbled, taking deep breaths as he relaxed against the man’s embrace.

  “Genji called.”

  Ah, right. Genji was still here. Hanzo looked up with the intention of making eye contact with his brother, but said brother was looking away from the pair with his eyes closed, his eyebrows pinched together. Giving an apologetic glance to Jesse, Hanzo pulled away from McCree and crossed the distance and grabbed his brother’s hand, causing him to snap his head to watch his older brother.

  “We shall see that nobody who has ever crossed us will ever do so again.” Hanzo spoke with finality. Genji swallowed and offered a weak smile.

  “I hope we can.”

…

  Not even half an hour had managed to pass before Hanzo wanted to spirit-travel to the castle.

  “Really sweetie?” Jesse asked, looking up from where he sat cross-legged across from Hanzo as the human was hacking away at a training dummy with a wooden wakizashi, his prized gun in pieces as he cleaned it.

  “Yes, really.” Hanzo replied bluntly, glancing briefly towards the demon before darting forward to slash across the dummy’s stomach. “I worry that there may be other things going on that Genji might have missed during his visit last night.”

  “You doubt that Genji didn’t see something important?” Jesse spoke from his spot, clicking a few parts together before reaching for a dust cloth.

  “I doubt that Genji was fully there after the shock that was that bastard showing up unexpectantly.” Hanzo corrected, landing a particularly loud smack across the dummy’s head, causing Jesse to wince in response. Wisely, he chose not to probed.

  “Well if you insist, I can take you.” He offered instead.

  “Thank you.” Hanzo lowered his weapon, running his fingers through his loose hair and feeling the pointy bristles of the growing buzzcut. A haircut was in order, but that could wait until after everything was done and dusted. “When shall we leave?”

  “As soon as I am done with Peacekeeper.” Jesse stated, his fingers moving nimbly over the parts that made up his most treasured item.

  Hanzo grabbed at the towel that was by the dummy’s stand and made his way over to Jesse, taking a seat next to him so their shoulders brushed each other.

  “Have you heard from the commander?” He asked, watching as Jesse made quick work on his gun.

  “Not yet, but I’d expect that he’ll come around soon.” Jesse reassured him, wiping the barrel with a small cloth before slotting it into place. He gave the cloth a flick, resulting in a few dust particles to fall free and fly around the air. Hanzo frowned as the faint smell of something acidic and ash-like entered his nostrils.

  “What are you doing?” He asked.

  “Getting rid of the Hellfire build-up.” Jesse replied casually as if Hanzo had heard the term before. “The stuff’s a nightmare if you leave it alone for too long.”

  Hanzo decided to assume McCree knew what he was doing and left it at that, especially since he seemed to have finished cleaning/polishing/anti-Hellfiring Peacekeeper now. The demon clicked the barrel back into its place as he rose, the Shimada following quickly after. Together the two headed for the door.

  But not before Jesse hesitated with his hand on the doorknob.

  “Genji wants to go with you.” Jesse looked surprised, with Hanzo following suite.

  “Why?” He asked.

  “Won’t tell me.” Jesse frowned, clearly trying to figure out the reason the other demon wanted to go.

  Hanzo sighed quietly. “If he wishes to go, who are we to tell him not to.” He moved himself in front of Jesse and placed his hand against the other’s and pushing down on it.

  “But the way he acted.” Jesse tried to justify, rushing after Hanzo as the two left the training room, one of them unaware of the figure on the other side.

  “It was a momentary slip.” Genji’s voice greeted them, catching the other Shimada off-guard. “I hadn’t properly steeled myself at the time. It will not happen again.”

  Jesse stared at him, his eyebrows pinched like he was trying to figure out what was going on in the other man’s head. But Hanzo walked by his brother and offered him a pat on the shoulder.

  “If you are certain that you will be fine, then by all means feel free to join us.” Hanzo offered.

  Garbled nonsense left Jesse’s mouth as the two headed to the lounge room. He quickly rushed forward to catch up.

  “Shall we do one last sweep of the perimeter before waiting for the Commander’s call?” Genji asked as they took their places on the soft floor.

  “That seems to be in our best interest for now.” Hanzo replied, trying to get comfortable on his knees. “I would hate to be in the middle of spirit-travelling when the Commander shows up. From what I know, the military lifestyle is very much reliant on time management.”

  Once the three were finally comfortable, Hanzo began the ritual of placing himself into a calm state of mind. Breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth as he attempted to block out all noises other than his heartbeat, which he could feel thumping against his chest in rapid succession. He frowned as he tried to focus on his breathing instead.

  “You’re breathing too fast, Hanzo.” Genji muttered. “You’re making me nervous.”

  “Sorry…” Hanzo replied. He had nothing to be nervous about. They had done this several dozen times over the course of his time with the demons. Why would he be nervous now of all times?

  A slight shuffle over to his left caused him to open his eyes, seeing Jesse’s spot empty for all of two seconds before he was back with the Shimadas, offering a familiar blue gem at the eldest.

  “Your mind is like a fireworks display, honey.” Jesse said softly, grabbing one of Hanzo’s hands and placing the fluorite into it. Hanzo rubbed his fingers against the gem, feeling the cool smooth sides before letting it roll into his palm.

  “Thank you.” Hanzo replied, closing both his hand and his eyes as he attempted to regain his lost composure. Putting his mind towards the stone and its presence in his hand, he faintly felt his heartbeat calm down enough to finally put him in the right conditions to have his soul swept away to Hanamura.

  The room that was his old office finally entered his perception, and he was quick to notice how much cleaner it was. Where dust had been collecting on the desk and bookshelves had been cleared off, as well as any stray objects to give the idea that the office was in-use.

  “What…” Hanzo was very much confused, so was McCree by the look on his face and the way he spun around to observe the room.

  “It was like this when I came here last night.” Genji explained, approaching Hanzo’s side. “If I had to guess, it had to do with Renko’s visit.”

  “To make it look like I was still here.” Hanzo finished. “The Elders are lying to him in order to gain his trust. They’ll only reveal that I am not here when he is in too deep to leave.” He speculated.

  Jesse nodded in agreement. “Did they mention anything about Hanzo?” He asked Genji.

  “They mentioned that he won’t be back for a while.” Genji answered, heading towards the door. “So Hanzo’s hypothesis does seem plausible for the time being.”

  The other two followed Genji as they left the room.

  “I’ll head outside to check on the guard count, you two do a sweep of the inside.” McCree suggested. After receiving a nod from the brothers, he quickly ran down the hallway leading to the quickest way out.

  “If Renko is within these walls, we should have a look to see what were would be up against in case he turns into a threat.” Hanzo mused. “If you are comfortable.” He quickly added, turning to look at his brother.

  Genji looked lost in thought. “He may have changed greatly since we last saw him.” Genji agreed, already turning and walking in the opposite direction Jesse had gone. Hanzo jogged to catch up. “I can feel where his presence is strongest, we should check that first.”

  “Are you sure you are fine with this?” Hanzo asked.

  “I don’t really have a choice in the matter, do I?”

  Hanzo was about to reply when Genji suddenly phased through a door without so much as hesitating. Hanzo quickly entered the room before realising which room it was.

  “He’s sleeping in my fucking room!?!” Hanzo roared, causing Genji to flinch beside him.

  And indeed; there sleeping on the former master’s bed was a man about the same age Genji would have been if he had not died a few years ago. He had long black hair done in a braid that ran down his neck to his shoulder bones. His torso was unclothed, revealing strong biceps like those on the cover of men’s fitness magazines. This had Hanzo raising his eyebrows in surprise. The last time Renko had been allowed on Shimada property, he was still fit, but not model-fit like the behemoth before them. Clearly fifteen years had some effect on the bastard.

  “He’s gotten buff.” Genji spoke softly. Hanzo chanced a side-glance at his brother and saw an expressionless face staring at the sleeping man.

  “I don’t care if he is now buff. I’ll knock him down like I have before.” Hanzo replied confidently.

  “I know you can.” Genji smiled, but it was as soft as his voice was a few seconds ago.

  Now all Hanzo could think was how much he wanted to punch everybody responsible for choosing Renko as his ‘partner’, then punch Renko so hard he would always feel the impact of Hanzo’s fist against his face.

  “So we know he could be as strong as he is unwanted.” Hanzo stated, finally causing a snicker to escape from Genji. “But he is not aware of what is truly going on. That is something we can use to our advantage.”

  Genji nodded. “Hopefully he won’t know until it is too late.”

  The two turned to head out the door, but were immediately stopped by the door opening, revealing the face of Gorou. Genji hissed in surprise as the brothers immediately backed away from the elder.

  “Renko!” Gorou barked. “Why are you not at the meeting like we told you before.”

  The figure of Renko groaned from his spot on Hanzo’s bed before sitting up, brown eyes looking through the Shimadas and at the elder.

  “Geez, I was up most of the night going through those papers Neikan wanted me to read.” He yawned, his surprisingly deep voice croaky from disuse.

  From the corner of his eye, Hanzo saw Genji shuffle closer to him. Hanzo’s heart fluttered for a moment, knowing that this man was still capable of doing such things to his brother.

  “That is no excuse for not attending meetings!” Gorou stated. “How are you to run the clan with the master once he returns?”

  “I will do better once I get used to how you operate around here.” Renko promised, getting off the bed and grabbing some clothes from a suitcase by the foot of it. “May I first go to a washroom to make myself more presentable to the other elders before joining?” He asked.

  Standing up instead of lying in bed, the Shimadas could see that he was slightly shorter than either of them, but he made up for it by sheer muscles alone, something that Hanzo would have to keep in mind if push comes to shove when their time to strike arrives. While he was skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and he had beaten Renko before, there was no saying what else the bastard was capable of.

  “Very well.” Gorou replied after a few seconds of silence. “I will inform the others that you will be with us as soon as you can.” He still sounded displeased about the whole ordeal.

  “Thank you, sir.” Renko bowed at the elder before disappearing into the attached washroom, something that made Hanzo’s mood sourer than before.

  “What a suck-up.” Hanzo muttered, Genji nodding beside him as they waited for Gorou to leave.

  But Gorou didn’t leave. Instead his cold eyes swept around the room slowly, causing the Shimadas to hold their breath and stay as still as possible as a shiver ran down their spine. Did the elders get other equipment other than the witch gun that could help with demon hunting and Gorou was using it to try and find more demons?

  After a few tense seconds of surveying the room, he seemed satisfied with finding nothing and moved to leave. The Shimadas slowly let their breaths out.

  “What was that?” Hanzo asked in a hushed voice.

  “I don’t know.” Genji softly replied. “But I didn’t like it. Let’s leave to find McCree.”

  The two moved towards the only exit to the room, but they were quick and startled to find that Gorou had stopped in the hallway. The brothers watched as he turned his head to check one side before slowly rotating to look down the other side. The two shared a confused and scared glance.

  The two were taken by surprise at the sound of the shower in the washroom turning on. They were just as surprised when Gorou turned back around to the entrance of Hanzo’s old room.

  “I would strongly suggest you stop playing these games, young masters.” Gorou stated quietly, a slight reverb in his voice as his solid gold eyes stared into the space the two spirits were standing in. “You should either face your consequences like the leaders you are, or never show your presence here again.”

  And without waiting for anything, he walked down the hallway towards where the meeting room was. Not that he would have gotten a response from the two stunned spirits that had felt their stomachs drop from their bodies and into the bowels of Hell.


End file.
